Aurora Borealis
by ionegirl
Summary: It was her, the person he definitely didn't want to see. After three years, could she still be the same person? DeiOC
1. Chapter 1

AN: This story isn't supposed to be as long as all the others so enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Deidara and other characters used by Kishimoto, nor will I ever. If this story resembles someone else's then it is just a mere coincidence.

Everything italicized is a dream!

Aurora Borealis

Chapter One

It all started about three years ago, when Sasori and him were to go to Rock Country for a mission. It was a fairly good mission that lasted for what it seemed for a week but in fact only four days. Rock Country hadn't changed a bit since he had left; the ancient volcanic rock towered high over their heads touching the crisp blue sky. Green plants dangling off the sides of each cliff. Caves of ebony hidden behind the lush foliage, where this country's history was kept untouched. Indeed, Rock Country still held that sense of grandeur that brought him into the art world. 

However, there was one problem after the mission was accomplished. Someone had escaped and ran for shelter after the blood bath of an explosion. Sasori quickly told him that he was careless and threw some kunai in the direction of the escapee. An audible shriek was heard and he had gone to figure who it was, Sasori staying behind in case they'd be caught.

When he had gotten to the site, he was prepared to kill on contact but was only stunned to see that it was not a ninja. The bird, that was in his hand, flapped away and perched itself on the body. A kunai was bore deep within her leg and one in her arm. He frowned and took a step forward to kneel next to the girl; amber eyes met with a frightened emerald. He peered at her with a rather pleasing face, a small smile tugging at his lips.

That was the day he had met her, a girl from his own village but had never seen. She was seventeen at the time, she had short dark blonde hair that always dangled in her face and it annoyed him to no end. When they had met, and she was cleaned up, he had told her that if she listened to him she would live. Then, he backed up with the statement that she was going to be his student. Both comments though only made the girl look even sadder than before.

He had taught her only the basics and then left her, even though he never knew he would ever come back. He had never told Rei-sama about her and didn't ever plan to tell him. Except now, he had Zetsu on his team, with Zetsu came Tobi, and with Tobi came aggravation. An artist should never work with such people where the only mood is total annoyance. Sure, Tobi was a true companion to Zetsu and the Akatsuki but was always in the way. He never seemed to make anything go right and had forced both members to tackle him momentarily. Tobi was only human though; he had his idiocy while Zetsu had his strict but silent side. Him on the other hand, was just an aspiring artist who felt as alone as alone could be. He had taken up the job to go back to Rock Country for another mission.

He was happy . . .

* * *

"Deidara-san, how much further?" 

"SHH!" Hissed Deidara as he turned around a corner carefully. He looked forward and saw the target; Zetsu did too and worked his way over to the unsuspecting victim.

"Deidara-san—"

Tobi's mask met Deidara's scarred left hand and the elder man grabbed onto his collar with a grin in place.

"Tobi, be a good boy and sit far off in the distance waiting for us . . . un!"

Letting go of Tobi's collar, the younger stood for a couple of seconds before walking off in the opposite direction. Deidara was an Akatsuki member and to Tobi was just as much boss material as Zetsu. He couldn't go against Deidara for obvious reasons. One of them was that he wasn't exactly one of them; he was just a tag along.

When the victim had been killed, Deidara and Zetsu took off into the direction of Tobi and into the maze of boulders. All three of them scattered and hid themselves in separate places. For several hours, they didn't see each other until a signal was given by one of them to come out of their places. ANBU was on hot pursuit with Akatsuki, and the prey had been an ANBU Captain.

Rei-sama was irritated by the men who were trying to track the organization and ordered Zetsu's group to kill the Captain leading it all. This Captain just happened to live in Rock Country, yet Deidara found it strange that Stone Village would take part in such a waste of time. Stone Village kept to themselves and hid themselves carefully from their enemies, not just chase them down.

The next day wasn't as eventful as the first but still just as exasperating. Tobi thought it funny the annoy the hell out of Deidara once more, but instead of seriously harming the younger, Deidara, being seriously out of character, walked away.

Zetsu knew something was bothering the artist and stayed his distance. Deidara was never enjoyable when he was in a sour mood. He had been rather vexed ever since the incident with the Konoha shinobi and he had lost his arm. Zetsu had found it humorous though that Deidara is still trying to save that arm that he had lost five months ago. So far it's worked, with the occasional medic jutsu used by our leader, the arm did not decay but it did not regenerate with the rest of his arm.

The artist as of that moment, had no inspiration, had no more patience, and had no good humor left in him. He needed some way to break the wall between him and the art that he so desired to accomplish. He'd create birds, fold tarantulas, and just write for the mere fun of it, but none of it helped. It just made him feel worse.

Collapsing onto the ground and starring up at the stars, a small remnant of a smile graced his lips.

"In that fleeting moment, that is when you can see beauty . . . un."

Yet, to him there was no beauty, there was only the pounding noise of explosions that rang in his ears. The smell of blood and decay permanent in his nose and the sights he'd seen were unable to be erased. For the past few months he'd been trying to find something else to make him feel better and only took on this job to make himself feel better but still felt horrible. He didn't understand it; everything he does just seemed dull and idiotic.

Rolling onto his side, he starred at the bare rocks beneath him and the muke-nin did something that was rare and occasional . . .

He fell asleep . . .

* * *

_Sensei . . ._

* * *

Amber eyes sprang open to the no longer dark skies above him. The light, still just as bright as any day, blinded him as he pushed himself back up. He felt tired still, and drowsy. Now he knew why he never liked sleeping, when he woke up he felt even worse. Though, he had let his brain rest, he had a headache like no other before. He felt like he was sick now. Maybe he was sick and couldn't think because of it. 

"Have a nice rest?"

"Go to hell . . . un."

"I'll take that as a no."

Taking a step near the edge of the cliff, the man in black clothing stretched and yawned once then continued to scratch the back of his head starring off into the distance.

"What a hard terrain." He said, still scratching his head as if Deidara hadn't heard him but unfortunately, he had. Deidara stood and forced a grin, "It's best that the ground is hard . . . un."

Tobi turned around and looked toward him then crossed his arms, "Why?"

Deidara slowly walked up to him and held up his hand, his grin looking a little weaker.

"So that when you fall, you won't feel anything . . . un."

Tobi snapped and immediately darted away from the cliff clumsily.

"HEY! Zetsu-san's not going to like it if you did that!" yelled Tobi, pointing his finger accusingly at the man with blonde hair.

Deidara frowned, "I never said I was going to push you over."

Tobi's finger faltered but quickly gained strength, "Of course you weren't, you were going to use one of your explosions to push me off!"

Now that he thought about it, it wasn't that bad of an idea to get rid of the sarcastic little punk using clay. No, that would be a waste of perfectly good material.

Just a thought though . . .

Maybe he should keep it in mind . . .

* * *

Three years . . . and now he's back here again. He hated it, yet he sincerely loved to be in the terrain again. However, there was no one with him that had the same artistic heart as he did, like Sasori. He was angry that Sasori let himself get killed, he was always the one to tell Deidara to be more prepared. 

"He's such a hypocrite. . . un."

Deidara starred off to his right side, peering into the shadows of the jagged rocks. The formations they created like hands reaching out for the sky, a place that only few people had been able to touch. His amber eyes softened for a moment and a delicate smile graced him. He could imagine himself up above the clouds, the wind pushing fiercely against him and the cold air invigorating him. Yes, he could see it now, the feeling of being weightless and free, and the shivers that thrilled him, the annoyed screams of his partner . . .

His partner . . .

The amber eyes lost their light instantly and the sight once again left him. He glanced over to the men making their way through the slight openings of rocks. Stopping every once in a while to find another way out of the dead end.

He wanted to die . . . What else could he do now? The sky seemed to no longer except his longing soul. It would cast dark mist and blind his eyes from the artistic light he worked with. Each day would pass and it felt like what creativity was left inside him was slowly fading away.

All he wanted was to touch the sky again, without the dull feeling attacking him.

It would be days before they got back to their employer, the man who said he would pay them a considerable amount of money if they killed the ANBU soldier coming after him. As soon as they got there though, they were planning to immediately leave.

Deep within the forests atop a mountain in Rock Country, was a large town. It was bustling with people, so many that it wasn't rare to see shinobi's walking around. Actually, it happened every day.

This was the place he had left her . . .

The memory offended him and promptly he put in further back into his mind. He was here strictly on business, nothing more and nothing less. The employer either gave them their money or he was killed. It was simple, though Deidara and Zetsu had no idea why it was necessary to kill such easy prey. There were many questions involving the pathetic mission and they were sure to ask every single one of them.

Abruptly, Zetsu stopped, "Tobi, go and wait for us."

Tobi slouched but did as he was told, jumping onto the nearest building and ran off. Deidara observed his strange companion before walking into the direction of the businessman.

* * *

"Go and prepare some seats! I believe they'll be here any moment now!" yelled a short and plump man, pointing his finger toward the door. His servants sighed and left the dark room, then silently closed the door behind them. 

"Geez, how ignorant they are!"

"Ignorant wouldn't be the word . . . un."

The stout man jumped around, surprised at the sound of a man's voice. He gaped at the rice paper wall with a form stealing the light from the tan color. Taking a deep breath, the man gave a cheeky grin.

"Ah, Deidara-san, it's good to—"

"How did you know we were coming, un?" asked Deidara, not waiting another second for the blabber mouth to say another word.

"Why, I saw you all coming from my window. You know I have quite a view of the village. I've been waiting for your arri—"

"The money . . . un."

The man paused and frowned, "Now just wait one second! Where's the other one?"

It was Deidara's turn to frown as he looked back up to sky, "He doesn't talk."

The plump man began laughing and opened the shoji to the porch outside, then stepped onto the cold wood. Deidara watched him out of the corner of his eye. Either this man had something up his sleeve, or he was extremely stupid.

"Doesn't talk huh? Poor man, that's the best way to get work done is to talk. Giving details about things and reporting for duty. So he doesn't talk?"

If Deidara hadn't had a good sense of patience in him at the moment, the man's throat would be sliced open at that instant.

"The money."

"Oh yes, the money. Well, two grand at your disposal then, I'll have one of my servants get it for you. But while you're waiting, why don't you come in and sit. Make yourself comfortable." The pudgy man wobbled over to the furthest seat and Deidara closely watched.

The man had to be stupid . . .

There was nothing that gave him a mere feeling that there was something up the idiot's sleeve. Nothing. Just the sense that the man was trying to be 'friendly' to him.

Taking this into account, he decided it might be fun to do so and he silently walked inside.

"I'll do just that then, un. I can also ask you a few questions . . . un."

Beady black eyes blinked at him, completely confused what the other was saying. Upon seeing the slight smirk on his face though, he thought the shinobi was amused.

Smiling, he mused himself, "What, need some time to yourself?" He laughed the most strangest of laughs, one that sounded like a repetitive hiss that could annoy any one to no end.

Deidara took his seat, crossing his legs comfortably and leaning slightly back on his arms. "No, actually . . . It's about the mission . . . un." He glanced at the round man, his straw hat nearly falling over his face. The man who was about to take a drink of some liquid, stopped, and set his drink on the table dividing the two.

"It's about the ANBU captain, isn't it?" He questioned, his beady eyes closing.

"Un."

"It's as I said Deidara-san, the ANBU have been trying to track your organization down."

A long forgotten grin replaced the frown, the amber eye not leaving the man's ugly face.

"That's what confuses me. Why did you help the Akatsuki?" The smirk grew extremely when the man didn't answer.

"Well, for one, you're of our country and for two—"

Deidara quickly stood, the grin falling just as abruptly, "Ah ha, I see, this _is _a trap then. . . un." He mused, blank eyes could nearly tear open skin. The small man squirmed in the gaze and held up a hand.

"No, Deidara-san, that's not—"

"Not what? Un? I found it rather odd that you let a killer into your home just as easily as a guest, now your fear confirmed my first assumption . . . un."

He took a step forward, his hand reached into his pocket and slowly pulled out a kunai. A slight upward turn of his lips made the man instantly get up and attempt to get away. He only got a few steps before his heavy body was chucked at the wall, a cold blade pressed up but the meat of under his chin.

"Believe me, this isn't the usual way I do _my _business. It's usually quick and painless but for you, there is an exception . . . un"

The small man wriggled under the pressure of the shinobi's body and tears rolled down his cheeks. He knew he was going to die.

"You picked a hell of a time to have me murder someone since I haven't been in a very good mood lately, un." Deidara got real close to the man's face and whispered. "But, I think I might enjoy this homicide."

The man gasped as the kunai sliced open skin and threw him to the ground writhing in pain. The blonde turned around and stepped on the fat one's back. He drove the kunai into the back of the neck, immediately killing the man. There wasn't as much blood as he had expected. Most of it though was in fact on him. Drops of it ran down his cheek and dripped off his hat.

He didn't enjoy it, as a matter of fact, it bored him.

Not a second later, the door in front of him slammed open. Deidara's head snapped up to the intruder and his body slowly backed away from the body on the floor.

He froze . . .

In the doorway stood a girl with wide green eyes, her expression that of being surprised at the sight.

She froze . . .

"Eos-kun! What's happened?" came a hurried voice, footsteps growing louder. He knew that if he didn't move he'd get caught. His amber eye didn't stray the the dark green ones, both bodies stuck in their spots.

Usually he would kill the witness and run off without leaving a trace of him behind. However, this time it was extremely difficult, he couldn't kill the witness because . . .

It was her . . .

* * *

Next Chapter: "What now?" Deidara, stuck on the borderline of depression, finds the one person he didn't need to see. What will he do? Coming up! Chapter 2!

* * *

AN: Well, well, what did ya think? I feel like I had Deidara OOC but then again, wouldn't you be sad if you're friend died? I know it's a little childish but hey, Deidara's human! Even if he had two extra mouths that normal humans don't have . . . he. 

Fanfic by ione


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Whee, another chapter full of our wonderful (depressed) Deidara! Okay, take this into account for this whole story, I've estimated that Deidara is about 23, maybe 24. I like 22 but it seemed too young. So I'll stick with 23, un! 

Disclaimer: I do not own Deidara or any other characters in the Naruto series! Just Eos and maybe a couple more later… Heeee.

Everything italicized is either a dream or a past event.  
Theme song: Metallica – Fade to Black

Aurora Borealis

Chapter Two

_"Usually he would kill the witness and run off without leaving a trace of him behind. However, this time it was extremely difficult, he couldn't kill the witness because . . ._

_It was her . . . "_

"Shit." Deidara scowled as he rapidly leaped off the corpse, running for the open shoji. His footsteps echoed as he dashed out of the building's courtyard. Men of various sizes, confused from all the commotion, were easily to knock away.

"Stop that man! He's killed Shokuro-sama!" A feminine voice yelled after.

"Yes Eos-kun!"

Kami hated him

Deidara grabbed onto his straw hat and pulled it down over his eye. Blood clearly visible on his hand, some of it stuck in between his fingers. He knew that the scent of human blood never leaves a person's hands until many years go on by.

"Damn." He thought when he sharply turned a corner and ducked behind a barrel. He waited for the ruckus in the street to come to a busy silence. Deidara frowned, then turned his head to the back of the alley.

"Deidara-san?"

Deidara could feel himself tighten in impulse, then glared at the boy hanging upside down.

"Tobi, I swear I'll kill you, un." Using the barrel as leverage, he stood and began walking toward the wall of the alley. He gracefully jumped and landed on the top, his head slightly glanced back at the black form getting back on top the roof.

"Where's Zetsu?" he queried only to receive a slight gesture of his hand. Deidara acknowledged and stood there a while, his ears picking up the voices that still cluttered the street.

"Keiji-san, did you find him?"

"No, but I think he made a B-line for the forest!"

"Eos-kun will not be pleased if you're lying."

"I realize . . . "

An amber eye peered up at the sky, dark clouds whispered to each other as they floated on by. The dried crimson on his face seemed to change a darker color. Again, the old feeling of wanting to reach the sky bubbled in his stomach. The amber eye glared at the clouds of gray and quickly passed it's deploring scowl to the wood beside him.

"Kami does hate me . . . un."

With that said, he leaped for the roof above him and dashed toward his companions.

* * *

_"Sensei! What do you think you're doing!" screamed the young girl before him, wrapped in a mere towel. Her face showed various colors of red; he couldn't tell which one depicted anger or embarrassment._

_"What? Problem . . . un?" Questioned the man sitting on the furthest rock, his expression that of confusion. The young girl scowled at his ignorance and quickly lifted a rock into her hand and threw it at him. Deidara sneered and tipped his head to his side to dodge the forbidding clump of dirt. _

_"Problem! I'd think so! You're such a peeping tom!" Enraged she tossed another rock._

_Deidara laughed as he yet again dodged the rock, "I'm just checking out my merchandise . . . un!"_

_Her jaw dropped, he had the nerve to say something like that then certainly she had the nerve to fully attack him. She stomped toward him, one hand clutching the cloth held deathly close to her. Deidara's grin grew incredibly wide at the response his comment had on her and slowly inched his way behind the rock to separate them both. _

_When she would move one way, he would move the opposite. They continued this until she had had enough and lunged at him over the rock. She collapsed on him, her fist raised in mid-air but couldn't understand why the man she pinned was laughing. She blinked and her fist dropped._

_When he recovered from laughing and threw up his hands over his head, he chuckled again, "My eyes!"_

_Registering exactly what had happened, she had to take a glimpse for herself. Looking down, she could see that she was fully exposed. Her face immediately gained color and she shrieked, closing her towel fully. Her sensei beneath her still laughing from the moment. Her glare could've killed at that moment, but hastily turned it away from the man who saved her._

_"You mean eye."_

_Deidara stopped laughing and wiped the tears from his eyes before chuckling again._

_"I hope Sasori-danna doesn't see us. . . un." He held back a snicker._

_"Why?" She once again wrongly asked. She knew what was coming and another glare was thrown at him._

_His grin grew wider, "We're in some predicament, aren't we . . . un?" _

* * *

A smile tugged at his lips from remembering such a memory. He could remember what she had done after that, she had nearly obliterated him. Sasori had end up pulling her away from him.

Yep, those were the good times . . .

Again, the dullness raided him of his happiness as the smile quickly faded away. The sky once again seemed so far away, the darkest blue only a slight glimpse in between of the somber puffs.

Deidara's face went lower, his hand covered his eyes from the moving sky. Quite suddenly, he felt his body take an unexpected jolt. Instantly, he sat up from the ground. In the distance he could see Zetsu and Tobi taking a dash toward him, a cloud of dirt and debris behind them.

He quirked an eyebrow and stood up, casually dusting his bottom off and sighing. Another day to be on the run from an idiotic person trying to assassinate a professional assassin.

"So, who is it this time?" he sighed, and picked up the hat beside him.

Tobi, being the imbecile he was, kept on running ahead while Zetsu stood beside Deidara. Both of them starred at the intruder, knees bent slightly and arms limp, they were ready to murder the nitwit who destroyed a perfectly good afternoon.

To add a little humor in it all, Deidara grinned barely, "Who goes there . . . un?"

Out of the dust came a silhouette, obviously approaching them. Not a step faltering, each one came just as easily as the last. Deidara smirk withered away as the figure made it's way out of the cloud. The face as clear as day and also just as prepared as they.

Damn . . .

It was her again.

"You there!" The woman pointed at the men in straw hats. "You're the one who killed my senpai!"

Senpai?

No, he was her senpai, or was he just her sensei? Kami, he didn't know, maybe she really wasn't who he thought she was but who else could have a name like 'Eos?'

Deidara shrugged, "What are you talking about . . . un? We're just wanderers sis."

The girl's hand dropped, and her prepared face became a glower. "You are him then, I suggest you turn yourself in before you become pulverized!"

Deidara blinked, so did Zetsu, for once they exchanged glances and smirked.

Deidara chuckled, "I'm shaking in my furry little boots . . . un."

The girl scoffed, threw her hands together to form a seal, "I bet you are!"

"You want this one, un?"

"Go easy or harsh?"

"Go easy. Make her feel weak, but make it quick . . . un."

With a flash, tiny rocks were thrown into the air then with a flick of the hand were turned into needles. One of her hands behind her spread it's fingers and pushed forward. The needles buzzing closing in on Deidara, Zetsu at the same time vanished into the ground.

The man laughed, "you gotta be kiddin' me, un."

Instantaneously darted off to the side, each needle found its place back into the earth. Looking to the ground, he could see where the earth shuddered.

"Go Zetsu."

"Dang it!" Her hands flew back together to form various seals. "Dog, tiger, rat—"

Without finishing, she was pulled into the ground by two off-colored hands. She yelled as her body was enclosed in the solid earth. She wiggled inside in an effort to get out.

Zetsu slowly crept out of the ground, his green foliage opening to reveal the black and white face behind.

"How unfortunate . . . ku ku ku."

Her face took on fear and her teeth snapped together. Again, she wriggled to release herself from her prison but still was unable.

A distant clapping was heard forcing Zetsu to turn around. The girl frowned at the curious task. Who was he congratulating?

"Did you want me to do something else?"

Deidara chuckled and proceeded forward, "no, that was good Zetsu . . . un. I wouldn't mind seeing that expression again though."

She bit her cheek as the man kneeled beside her, his hand reached for a stray bang and brushed it aside, nearly mocking her. In return, she inwardly glared at him, her bang once again fell before her face.

"If that fatty was your senpai, then who am I?" Deidara lifted his hat, sunlight once again touching his pale face. Strands of blonde hair brightened to become white and an amber eye revealed.

At the sight of this familiar, Eos quirked an eyebrow and scoffed, "You're the person who killed my senpai!"

Obviously she was still very dense. Deidara could feel himself slouch, but quickly recovered, looking straight up at the buried girl. He shook his head, stood up, and walked away toward the ever curious Zetsu. However, he wasn't in the mood to tell him.

"HEY! That's not right! At least get me out of this trap SENSEI!" she screamed, and by Kami she was an earsplitting one. Deidara nearly fell over from the unexpected blare. Zetsu looked to Deidara and smiled, "Sensei?"

Could he smack him now?

Zetsu could be rather annoying . . .

Just like Tobi . . .

"Yes, she's my pupil . . . un." He turned around and glared at the head above the dirt, then rubbed his ears. Casually, he began walking off again and again the girl screamed after him. This time more explicit that she wanted out.

Zetsu again glanced at blonde, who again turned around only this time was a little more irritated before. He thought it might a good time to disappear for a while. Besides, Tobi is still probably running and lost by now so he might as well save him from any further confusion. With a puff, Zetsu was gone and Deidara was left to deal with the persistent little brat that had grown up.

He wanted to ask a simple question before he punished her from nearly destroying his eardrums.

"How old are you . . . un?"

Still pouting, she answered, "twenty."

Dang, why twenty . . . He thought she looked more like a teenaged girl.

Poor thing, now it's going to be the most popular dinner on the menu.

Deidara put his hands together; a frown now on his face, he glared at her through his eyebrows. Eos shrieked and squirmed in her spot in the dirt and went wide-eyed.

"Now sensei, there's no need for rash—"

"You deserve it, un!"

"Sensei!"

Above the trees, the sight of birds suddenly flying into the air and a cloud of dirt appeared. The branches moved harshly with the wind power, some leaves floating out into the distance.

* * *

He knew she must be demising an evil plot right about now, he could feel the penetrating glare she had to be giving him. Deidara was originally going to leave her there in the dirt but had decided against when he saw she was trying to get up after being nearly killed. He then remembered why he had taken her in three years ago.

She had a will to live . . .

Taking her under his wing again though would prove to be quite difficult since now he had Zetsu and Tobi to deal with. He was sure Tobi wouldn't mind some new company but Zetsu . . .

Well, Zetsu didn't like women . . .

Deidara shuddered at the memory of Zetsu eating a human being and quickly tried to remove the memory from his mind.

Zetsu would get used to her though, Deidara knew he would since all she was only a pupil of his. Tobi already was showing the signs that he liked having her along but was still very wary of her attitude. After all, she was at one time trying to kill him and Zetsu.

Eos, on the other hand, showed every sign of hated it all together. She had an artists spirit, he could see that in her, but she rarely indicated that she was creative. Even he had never really seen her do anything but train.

"Deidara-san, are we there yet?"

Kami, not again . . .

"No . . . un."

Deidara quickly stopped and passed a glare over to Tobi, "No."

Tobi sighed at the sign that Deidara knew what move he was going to take.

Really, Deidara wasn't fun any longer.

"Deidara-san, are we there yet?"

He could feel a vein show, he knew it was there. Deidara clenched his hand and forced himself now to blow the living brains out of the younger.

"Tobi, we just left . . . un." Said Deidara through gritting teeth. With this, the younger one laughed and nodded.

"I know, but I'm still hungry."

Zetsu stopped in mid track and also glared at the boy, "Hungry?"

Tobi suddenly felt a loss of appetite because of the glares he was receiving and slowly step back. Unexpectedly he stepped back into something and spun around to get a look at the barrier that stopped him only to find a quiet and bandaged girl.

"Oi, don't run into me clumsy."

"Wha—"

Being pushed away by a shoulder, Tobi sighed. Today was just not a good day.

"Deidara-san—"

"No!"

"Ze—"

"Shut it tight Tobi before I put clay behind you mask, un!"

Zetsu shook his head to Deidara, "Tobi's a good boy though."

"…"

He knew Zetsu had two personalities, even still it was annoying. When they were to reach the river, Deidara was definitely going to take a long and appreciated rest. After all, he had dealt with Tobi and with Eos today and now again was in a foul mood.

* * *

AN: I know this chapter came off a little short but hey! It was fun! That's all that matters!

* * *

Next Chapter

* * *

All he wanted was some sleep, couldn't he at least get a wink? Wait, what's that sound? A flute? In the next chapter of Aurora Borealis! The girl by the stream…

* * *

To all reviewers, even though it's little, THANK YOU!

Alesa: I agree, DeiXOC's are really, really, really rare. Shoot! Even really good stories on Deidara are rare. I WILL CONTINUE!

Jazzy Uchiha: Thank you for reading it, I hope you enjoyed it . . . BUT NOW HERE'S MORE! MWAHAHAHAHA!

Fanfic by ione


	3. Chapter 3

AN: third chapter of an expected (counts fingers) . . . lets just say ten for now. Hehe! It's really hard finding different theme songs for each chapter. I will say this now and get it over with, don't take the name "Kuchi" into heart with one of the characters I introduce… please don't take it seriously…

Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto characters, especially Deidara, I only own Eos and some other . . . idiotic . . . characters. Heee….

Theme Song: Naruto First Soundtrack – Sadness and Sorrow

* * *

Aurora Borealis

Chapter three

* * *

She needed to have her own private time away from the three men, away from the Sensei she no longer knows. Pushing her way through dense foliage and stumbling over the few loose rocks in the ground, she walked on. Her arms were slightly limp from the day's walk and her eyes were still wide open. She wasn't tired, not even underneath an open night sky that majestically sparkled, almost laughing at the planet that inhabited life.

Eos could hear water moving nearby, and she was going to find it no matter what. Pushing away a branch that blocked her view, she could easily see the stream surrounded by many large and even small rocks. No grass or other plant grew around it. A soft smile graced her lips and she took a step forward, her hand stayed on the branch until she was a safe distance to let go.

Emerald eyes drifted over the glittering water that moved swiftly over the many rocks that tried to stop it. Soon, she sat up a large rock, smaller than the others, and reached into her cotton belt. Slowly, she revealed the shiny silver tube that she had kept hidden for a good part of the trip. She didn't know if anyone knew she had something like this with her. Carefully she lifted the tube to her lips and breathed into it.

The sounds were so beautiful, and she was able to direct them to create other sounds. She was cautious not to be loud, she didn't want to wake anyone up and let them find out what she was doing.

Especially her Sensei . . .

She prayed he wouldn't wake up . . .

* * *

Deidara covered his ears and pressed hard on his own head. He had a headache, the damn forest was making to much noise. He didn't mind the constant chirp from new hatchlings, but really, he needed to sleep. He rolled his eyes over to the two idiots who slept quietly. Zetsu slept with his flytrap closed and Deidara was tempted to rip it away from him in order to get some peace. However, no matter how hard he tried to block out the sounds, he couldn't. Could he cry now? After all, all Shinobi's need some hours of sleep each week to keep moving.

He felt his nose prickle . . .

NO! He takes that back, he doesn't want to cry!

Gah, stupid noises . . .

The blonde rolled side to side and frowned, he hadn't noticed it before but . . .

Where was Eos? . . .

Sitting straight up, he got a better view of his perimeters and still didn't see the dense pupil. He slouched and glared at a local tree.

"How I envy you . . . un."

Standing up, he stretched and pouted at the scenery, secretly despising everything around him. He was still really tired and he didn't have to worry about Eos, right? Apparently, that was just a lie on his part as he felt his own body clumsily marching through the thick greenery. He walked without any enthusiasm, his hands would usually reach out to the standing plants to gain some leverage.

Then, something caught his ear and his head shot in the direction of this sound. It was faint, but it was there. What the heck was that sound? Deidara pushed himself to continue walking in another direction. His curiosity peeked when he was able to make out the sound – it was the sound of a flute.

"Who would play a flute so late at night . . . un?" Deidara wondered, his eye now ever alert to the world around him. Slowly he moved himself around the brush when another sound was audible and seemed to blur the other out. It was the sound of the stream that they were sleeping near. They had moved further away from it just so that any 'predators' wouldn't try to 'hurt' them.

Finally, he pushed away the branch that blocked his view of the moonlit stream. His upper lip twitched at the sight that was given to him so easily. There was Eos, her thin form sitting upon a small rock and her head slightly tilted upward. Taking a deep breath, he quickly moved himself onto the bank, making sure that he made as much noise as possibly.

Eos's head spun toward him, her emerald eyes wide with surprise. She leapt of the rock and turned her body toward him stiffly. Both of her arms held behind her back, almost suspiciously. Nervously, she smiled at him and closed her eyes to hold back some of the emotions that were easily draining out of them.

Deidara smirked, "Damn, I was so close. I could've stolen you purse, un."

Eos smile fell and an expression of confusion replaced it.

"What are you _talking _about?"

His smirk fell and he narrowly glared at her, "You idiot. You just left yourself open to any attack . . . un."

The stiffness in her form went down as she glared back at him, "Sorry."

"What the hell were you doing out here, un?"

"None of your business!"

"Of course it's none of my business! But that wasn't my question, what were you doing, un?" He could nearly feel his voice go higher as he spoke to her. It was aggravating, more so than Tobi.

"I wasn't doing anything!"

Her voice was now beginning to roar and he knew that Zetsu and Tobi would hear her very soon if this continued. Oh no, he wouldn't continue this fight, it's worse enough that he hasn't gotten any sleep.

"Shut up and go back to camp!"

"No! I'm not one of your peons! Why don't you just leave with you tail between your legs like you did back then!"

Snap, the rope holding his temper broke. His soul was now easily being engulfed by the darkness of his heart. He could almost feel himself drown in it, his hands trying to grab back onto something to protect him. He had left her behind back then because he didn't want Rei to hear about her, it was as simple as that. It was best for her to stay where she was, he still had missions to accomplish and she would only get in his way.

Deidara strode toward her, his right hand clenched into a fist. Eos's body appeared to quiver at the advancement but she kept her ground. Then, without any other movement or words said, her body felt the soft sand beneath her. Her cheek was a warm color of red, a small scratch slightly bled on her cheekbone. He had backhanded her with his right hand, however he did it so quickly that she didn't have time to react.

Her right hand instinctively reached up to her red cheek and cupped it. All the while, her eyes, wide with terror, were locked to the ground.

"Don't look at him," she thought, propping herself up on her left elbow.

Deidara took a step forward again, this time more calmly, and leaned over her. His blonde hair dangled from his face like a curtain and his expression held nothing.

"No, but you are still my pupil . . . un."

With this said he casually held out his hand to her, still she made no movement toward him. She just stared at his hand that was glowing a soft blue, making out the creases that his hand held and the closed mouth within. Slowly and ambiguously, her right hand left her cheek and lightly grabbed a hold of the man's hand. His fingers tightened around her frail hand and she realized how large his hands were. Before, they appeared to be that of a child's, maybe a teenager's.

Pulling her up to stand near him, Eos still refused to look at him directly. She could remember one time when she had once looked at him, it had scared her. His face was completely showing the signs of anger. No, she would not look at him, she didn't want to be scared again. She hated the emotion of fear, hoping that one day, her fear might be taken away like his.

Then, she looked to him. He wasn't looking straight at her anymore, but instead he was looking above them, at the sky. To the average person, he may seem emotionless at that moment, a person whose face appeared to hold nothing but the dullness of a criminal's life. However, when she didn't see the anger, something else came into view. She couldn't really make it out but he almost looked as if he were feeling melancholy. That certainly couldn't be it, even she knew that it was almost impossible for him to have that emotion.

"Sensei?" The word just slipped out of her mouth, she wasn't able to control it.

"What, un?"

She didn't really mean to say it as if it was a question, but it had just came out. Eos bit her lip, she didn't really know what to say to him, and never before had her Sensei act like this.

Then it struck her . . .

It hurt really badly too . . .

"Where's Sasori, Sensei?"

When she saw him twitch at the name, her original thought had been confirmed. It wasn't unusual to live in the line of fire, that's what the Akatsuki did everyday. Always trying to escape a pointless battle but always living on the side, knowing that somewhere out there, there's someone hunting them.

Deidara's head turned toward her, his bangs moving almost to the side of his face revealing the eyepiece over his left eye. He stared at her, and he found that her staring back at him was a little nerving.

"He's dead, un." He turned on his heel and proceeded to walk away, but the sounds of the sand crunching and the sudden pull of his coat sleeve made him stop. Deidara's frown increased and he pulled away his sleeve from the thing that had hold of it.

"So now you're depressed."

Depressed?

What, him?

No, he couldn't be depressed.

Could he?

A long and forgotten smile wandered onto his lips and he closed his eye briefly before turning toward her but found it rather hard to hold that smile.

Was she concerned?

For him?

No, she couldn't.

However, he couldn't help but notice the uneasy mood she was creating. His smile faded away and he stared at the pupil who in return watched him. She was reading him, he could see that, but why? There was nothing to read, was there? Questions within his mind began to form, one after the other, not allowing him to think properly. His mind fought back the dispute raging within him, but his face deceived him and when he finally felt it, he was sent into utter shock.

He glared, "go back to camp, un."

* * *

Somewhere in Rock Country

* * *

"So, he was killed by a missing nin, huh?" Said a girl with short platinum blonde hair, her eyes a narrow amber. She wore a Stone Village headband that glittered in the sunlight. Sitting down by the grave and lifting some freshly moved dirt then sifting it through her fingers. All the while, her left hand held onto the wakizashi at her waist.

"Yes, and they say he must have been some kind of monster to!"

The girl smiled and stood to look at the man, "What kind of monster?"

The man's eyes grew wide, "Well, they say that he was a member of an infamous group."

"Really," she whispered, tossing another analyzing glance to the grave before looking to the man.

"Excuse me, but . . . I don't think I got your name."

The girl smiled and placed her hands on her hips, "Forgive me, my name is Kuchi Nami."

The man's mouth dropped immediately and he bowed, nearly taking a step back from the girl, "forgive me, I had no idea that you were part of the Kuchi clan in Hidden Stone Village."

The smile on the girl's face widened to his antics and taking a step forward, she grabbed his chin with her hand.

"Don't worry, I'm nothing like my father. You should be glad he didn't come today or else your head would be served to the creatures that lurk in the shadows."

The man's eyes widened and he forced down a gulp. When the girl's hand removed it's spot from below his chin, she laid it upon the wakizashi comfortably. Her amber eyes explored the city to her side, watching as all the people walked steadily to do their own business. She glared at them inwardly, then tossed her head back to the man's face.

Proceeding back up the hill from the cemetery, she said, "give me some more details on who this man is."

The man queried, "but, I wasn't one of the guards who saw him."

"How about the girl I saw here before his death, where has she gone?"

The tall man stopped, "well, we haven't seen her since then. Eos-kun thought it best to trail the man down and execute him right there. She told us to trust her, she'd bring back proof of his death."

"Eos? Did she give you a last name?"

"No, Nami-san, she just showed up here about a two years ago. Shokuro-sama said that having her around might do some good."

"Can I ask you a question then?"

"Yes, Nami-san?"

"Did she have dark blonde hair and I believe green eyes?"

The man scratched his head, "I believe so."

Nami's head snapped up toward the town once more and glowered. Her hand gripped tightly at the short sword at her waist and her other one clinched tightly into a fist.

It was Eos, the damn brat that her family had banned almost five years ago was still alive.

* * *

In Grass Country

* * *

"Deidara-sannnnnnnn."

"What Tobi?"

"How much further?"

Deidara stopped and glared back at Tobi, "Right now, Buddha won't be able to save you if you continue to irritate me gaki!"

He hadn't at least gotten a wink from last night, he was to busy considering the fact that maybe he was depressed. He hadn't been his jovial self lately and he even had an artist's block that only the Devil himself could have made.

Tobi went still at the sudden threat by Deidara and kept his mouth shut. Pushing his buttons at the moment would only cause Tobi to be strangulated. He kept himself near Zetsu but a distance away from the irate man who took rather large and quick steps. Eos, on the other hand, walked by Deidara's side. Except she said not a word to him the entire time, her emerald eyes stayed locked on the trail ahead of them.

"Tobi, once we get to Rain Country then it's only an extra step across a field to get to the base." Said Zetsu who looked back to Deidara but sighed and shook his head.

How did Sasori ever manage?

"Sensei, can I ask you a question?"

All eyes locked on the girl who slightly tilted over to see the face of Deidara. He glared at her and gave a sharp "no."

"Well, why are we sticking to this open trail where people can see us? Shouldn't it be wiser to be in the forest?"

Deidara gave a forced chuckle, "no, only Zetsu is the one to step through this forest. We can't because it's infested with flesh eating insects."

Eos stopped, her face took on a shade of blue.

Bugs . . .

She hated bugs . . .

Creepy and slimy and . . .

Well, she just hated bugs and the mere thought that in the forest there are flesh eating ones gave her shivers. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Eos was knocked back into reality and noticed she had stopped. She turned her head to the man in black with a mask on. A chuckle came from him as he took his hand away.

"It's okay Eos-kun, I won't let them get you." Another small chuckle came from the man. Again, her face took a deep shade of blue, "he's not telling the truth is he?"

Tobi began laughing and took her by the arm to help her move from her spot.

"Who knows, Deidara-san is a very good spy and well . . . who knows if it's true. But I can tell you that you should not say another word to him, if you know what I mean."

With that said, Tobi turned his face from hers and again Eos was the one to be left in the background. What she had said earlier to Deidara, was it still bothering him?

For the rest of the trip, Eos did exactly what Tobi told her to do, keep her distance. She walked along side Tobi for most of the walk to Rain Country, however, she didn't even dare go near Deidara. One thing was definitely for sure though . . .

She was going to be hurting when she got to the Akatsuki base.

* * *

Characters

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Eos: I find Eos rather interesting to write, you just don't see this kind of person in stories often. Eos is the Greek name for Aurora, the goddess of the Dawn whom had a love for mortals. When Goddess Eos came down to earth when she was banned from the sky's, she fell in love with the Rock God. "drum roll" Lets tie it all together! Akatsuki stands for dawn and Deidara basically stands for Rock God. Honestly, I had no idea about all this, I just liked the name Eos.

Kuchi Nami: Ahhhhhh . . . An interesting plot building character . . . hmm yes. . . Kuchi stands for mouth and Nami stands for wave. She, in a way, is kinda like me. She wants all the details, not to overlook a single clue or rock. I'm not telling you anymore about this character.

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Vocabulary

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Wakizashi: small sword, usually held by samurai's.

Gaki: Brat

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Next Chapter

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The group finally makes it to the base and everyone's eyes are all on the new girl and Deidara is the one on the stand. In the next chapter of Aurora Borealis, realization.

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TO ALL MY REVIEWERS! THANK YOU!

Maruken: Yeah, I know, but all the ones I find are kinda . . . well . . . dry . . . if you ever find a really good one could you PLEASE send it to me . . . I'm dying here! LOL! Thanks for the review!

Fanfic by ione


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Naruto and it's characters . . .

* * *

Aurora Borealis

Chapter Four

* * *

Quickly pulling up the camouflaged board in the ground, he revealed a tunnel that had been well worn. Deidara looked over his shoulder and gave a brief glance to the now curious girl before he stepped in. The two others, Zetsu and Tobi, also took a step into the dark and cold tunnel. Their footsteps echoed throughout the hallway and died soon afterward. Taking a deep breath before deciding to proceed along with the men, the girl felt a familiar hand grab onto her bottom half of her yukata. Taking an exhausted sigh she began taking the same footsteps the other men had taken already.

It was even worse than she had originally thought. The cave appeared to be falling apart. The bricks that held up its ceiling were slightly loose and had let some roots go through them. From a distance, the ceiling looked like the cascading hairs of an old woman.

Eos grimaced, she didn't even want to know what the base looked like.

It was dark especially with the only light that came from the exit in front of them. Holding out her arms, she grabbed onto the thin coat of the man in front of her and was shocked to find how tough it was. It almost felt that it could break in her hands, yet it didn't.

Deidara made no motion to show she had grabbed onto his back, he continued to walk ahead, eyes locked on the exit. He was still slightly angry and annoyed with her, now he had no choice but to put up with her. She was, to him, an ugly and dense student whom he had taken in a few years ago that really did nothing. Could he really call her a pupil even if he really didn't teach her any techniques?

Then, in the corner of his eye, he saw Tobi jump slightly upward. A small grin worked itself into place onto Deidara's lips and he inwardly laughed at the man with the mask. That grin, however, quickly fell when he had to stop because of the moron. Then he was slightly bumped in the back by the girl who held onto him. He glared at the little man in front of him, his upper lip twitched at Tobi's antics.

Holding up his hand and giving a slight laugh, Tobi nervously spoke, "um . . . maybe it would be wiser to hide Eos-kun."

Deidara frowned, "why . . . un?"

Without another word asked, two gloved hands pulled apart the black coat that mainly clothed Deidara. Immediately, an amber eye went narrow, "What the hell are you doing Tobi?"

Passively, Tobi peered over Deidara's shoulder to Eos and sighed.

"Eos-kun, you might be a little big for his coat."

That was it! Deidara threw back his fist in anger and wedged his knuckles deep into the side of the idiot's head. Tobi's body took an unimaginable turn for the ground, half his body hitting the brick floor at an angle. Although, when Deidara thought about it, Tobi was right. The whole scene of him walking in with an outsider in front of their leader probably wouldn't be the greatest of displays. Taking a deep breath, he let his hand fall limply to his side. Zetsu shook his head, and with one last look at Deidara, he left the three there.

Eos, who was currently the victim of one of Tobi's ideas, soon found herself inside her Sensei's coat. It smelt horrible. Smelling of blood, blood was the main stench that offended her. The next was the smell of sweat mixed in with the smell of a light cologne. It was wrong, she knew, to be getting notes on her Sensei like this. But then, she really didn't know what her Sensei was like anymore.

"He used to smile all the time, used to laugh, and pull pranks on me. Though I hated it, he always made me laugh." She thought sadly, but soon enough was knocked out of her own mind and into something that would take a lot of effort.

Walking along with him . . .

"If you screw up on this, not only will he kill you, but I will to, un."

Eos gulped. Yep, she way more preferred her old Sensei.

First was his left foot and she quickly followed.

Then right . . .

Then left . . .

Then . . . uh oh!

She fell out of walk with him. It wasn't her fault though, he was going at such a slow pace. She could hear his irritated sigh and again they kept on moving.

It was at that time that Deidara couldn't help but glare at Tobi, who had been completely serious. Why did he go along with this plan again? Couldn't he had just done it the easy way and immediately get punched in the face instead of waiting and watching his leader get more angry.

"Left foot, step up," he whispered to himself as they took a step onto an unknown wooden floor. Eos's dark green eyes peered down at the glossy wood beneath them. It would seem that, judging on how the floor was made, any person would think that the Akatsuki base was just a normal home. Suddenly, the girl was knocked out of her thought when a sturdy voice, shocking even the man in which she hid herself with. She felt his shoulders turn slightly backward, signifying that he was staring back at the person who had caught them.

"My, my, my, Deidara, you seemed to have gained a couple of pounds." Came the growling voice of a man that even Deidara did not go up against.

The left side of the man's lips went upward into a devious grin. A grin that called for the recipient to curl back with a nervous stance.

"Maybe . . . 130 more pounds?"

Eos glared at the black fabric intensely. Whoever this man was, she was going to hurt him for that comment! She didn't weigh that much! Still, she kept her body in the movement with his and stayed quiet.

"Also, I see you've grown two more feet to add to those hands," a slight snicker came from him, "it's amazing what food will do for you."

At this comment, Deidara's muscles tightened as he gave a stale laugh. Lifting his hand behind his head, he gave one of the most cheekiest grins that a mere human could fathom.

"Well, you see, there were these really good doughnuts in town and I couldn't keep away from them, un!"

The man opposite of Deidara lost his smirk and now glared at him.

However, a moron had overheard the whole conversation between the two and just had to interrupt.

"Doughnuts sound good!" said Tobi as he turned the corner, "lets go into town and get some Deidara-san!"

Then Tobi stopped all motion as he peered at the man who was currently questioning Deidara and slowly backed out from the situation. An amber eye glanced over at a beaming man who pointed his finger stiffly at his coat. Deidara rolled his eyes in objection, but slowly moved his hands toward the center of the black and red fabric. Casually he unsnapped the buttons apart, and as the fabric slowly separated, Eos's scowling face was revealed.

It was then that Eos looked upon the evil entity that had basically called her fat. She was surprised, though, at how young this man appeared. His voice completely betrayed him by the mere gruffness that was usually found in old men. His eyes were a pair of a red-brown color, narrow and seemingly frozen in a menacing glare that made something squirm within her. Dark brown hair spiked up away from his head, some pieces fell in front of his eyes. Eos had no doubt that this man before her was the leader of the Akatsuki.

His face went into a deep glower toward Deidara, "do you have any idea what you have just done."

Deidara sighed and raised both his arms above his head in a sign of impertinence, his amber eye peered away from the man's scowling eyes.

"She's my pupil."

It was then when a loud thud occurred right in front of her as a tightened fist banged into the wooden wall beside them. The whole building seemed to shake with the ferocity of it, and so did Eos. It was so bewildering, that her mind had literally made her take a step backward into Deidara. She didn't really want to, but she did know that he was stronger than she was.

"I don't give a damn if she's your pupil! Take her out back and silence her!" The leader's voice turned into a deep growl as he spoke, his anger rather evident and Deidara's non-caring expression baffled her.

The slightly taller Deidara gave a simple smirk, yet, it didn't hide the nervousness in it, "It'll be all right, as long as she doesn't leave the base . . . un."

This only seemed to anger the leader even more and he took a step toward the two of them. It shocked her when she felt the slight tug on her clothing. Her eyes widened even more from what they were and her head quickly turned back to a man with a white mask on. He continued to tug on her clothing until Eos got the picture that she wasn't supposed to be in front of Deidara, but instead, far away from him. Taking a step off the porch, Tobi continued to drag her away from the pending fight.

* * *

Somewhere in Rock Country

* * *

"We're going to rest here for the night! Chen, you'll be watch for the first hours! We'll leave tomorrow at dawn for Stone village!"

Setting down the pack that she had strapped to her waist and also setting aside the wakizashi, she stood and stared angrily at both items. In the dusk air, her bright yellow hair could give any enemy a good target, but she didn't care. She dared them to attack her, to try and impale her head on an arrow. It was a dare that most kunoichi's refused to speak aloud, but she was proud. She was the daughter of a very strong leader within the Stone village, and was now an exceptionally strong kunoichi herself.

A soft breeze came by and lightly pushed her wispy blonde hair into her face. The breeze felt so good against the sweat on her face. The heat of the day dragged down onto her as her body felt the fatigue that was always looked down upon by higher ninjas. Again she didn't care. Most ninjas die in their early days, and even she was predicted to die when she began. She was the youngest, and the second sibling in her family who wasn't supposed to be who she was today, a ninja.

Absentmindedly, she began walking up the rocky cliffs that towered above the group. There were a few times she slipped but she quickly recovered. Tiny pebbles tumbled down from the slope as she proceeded to its highest point. Her mind was blank as her amber eyes watched the ground inattentively.

She had been told to quit being a ninja many times in her past, but each time she refused to go down. All she wanted was the recognition of her father, and surely enough, she received. She didn't regret any of it, actually, she was rather happy that she was able to become a great kunoichi. It was mainly her family though, who wanted her to be a respectful lady and quit being a ninja. They all wanted her to be the bearer of the next heir to the clan. However, she didn't want that life.

"Nami-san! What are you doing?" called a rather childlike but serious man behind her. Waking up from her previous thought, Nami widened her eyes when she noticed she had been standing right on the edge of the cliff, below her about fifty feet of jagged rocks. She smiled, it was times like these that brought old and painful memories back from the collected dust. A book, at one time closed carefully with satin wrapped around it, now began to unfold and reveal its pages. Nami turned all the way around toward Chen, who had been the one who yelled at her, and gave a smirk.

"Why, I'm enjoying the scenery."

* * *

Deidara sat dejectedly before the leader, one hand lightly rubbing the soreness from his bruised cheek. He mentally categorized the multiple cuts, swells and bruises from their little scuffle, and came the saddening realization that he was going to be extremely sore in the morning. His swollen right eye did its best to glare at their leader, after all, _he_ came out of the whole thing with only a messed up hair due. Being the long-range fighter he was, he supposed he really didn't have a chance against their leader. But one day, oh yes, one day he would get his pay back. Deidara's mind drifted away as it thought of the different members he could learn a few things from. Maybe he'd take lessons from Itachi . . .no.

Silence filled the room, both occupants left in their thoughts. One thinking of sweet revenge, the other trying to solve the troublesome situation his follower seemed apt at creating.

"What to do," he whispered below his breath, catching the attention of Deidara who quickly became interested. His hand slowly dropped to the floor as he waited with building anticipation.

"Let her stay here Rei-sama, un!" His grin seemed to spread from ear to ear but his mischievous eye gave the man other thoughts.

"Leader."

"Che, whatever, un. Just let her stay. I'm pretty sure she'll keep our secret, and if she doesn't, well, I am her _Sensei_ . . . un."

A small smile was starting to work its way in a corner of the elder's lips. It still didn't make him feel any better that a woman was now in the presence of seven other men, not including Tobi of course.

"Ah! I know, make her be the cook, un!"

The leader's head dropped in exasperation and he let out an annoyed sigh. There were times where he swore Tobi was rubbing off on Deidara. Still, the idea did hold its own weight. Raising his hand to cup his chin, he thought about the idea of having decent meals for once. Deidara waited patiently for the man's answer; his smile had disappeared and his eye seemed to be just a blank orb. He was expecting the worst from the leader since he was usually the one who got into trouble.

"Fine, but only until I can figure out a way to get rid of her." Rei finished as he stood, using one knee for his hand to lift himself.

Wait . . .

What? . . .

Eos could stay? . . .

Deidara had this horrible feeling in his stomach now, his face turning into a tint of white. He let out a nervous laugh and peered out the door, "you mean . . . Eos is going to . . . cook? Un?" He could help but laugh at this thought and he had to immediately cover his mouth in order to cut out the noise.

He muffled shortly before he had reached his room, "Oh, this is going to be fun . . . un."

* * *

AN: "dies" Oh . . . my. . . GAWD! "begins hitting head and growls" I have come down with the mother of all writers' blocks and now am in pain because this chapter was hard to write. But hey! I got it done this month at least! "laughs nervously" Review . . . please?

* * *

Next Chapter

* * *

"grins" ain't telling!

* * *

To all my reviewers and readers! Thank Y'all!

Fanfic by ione


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Naruto and it's characters.

Foreword: I'm so happy, oh so happy! And look! WRITER'S BLOCK! . . . meh.

* * *

Aurora Borealis

Chapter Five: A Lingering Sound

* * *

Theme Song: Legend of Zelda – Zelda's Theme

"As I sleep in my bed, and I repeat the scene, which you bled. My eyes were still wet, to only see your threat. As my heart beats in my chest, my body begins to distress. You have come back to me, but not as what I had foreseen. You need my tender care, the one wished not to share. I'll try and help you, and see what I can do…" -Anonymous

* * *

It had been quite some time since Zetsu's group had finally come into the base. When Deidara had tried to hide a female secretly away from the leader and failed miserably. He ended up keeping the female there, but only if she was to do one simple thing.

She had to cook.

Eos hated cooking.

The first day that she had begun cooking, her exasperated cries lasted for the entire time. It had gotten on Rei's bad side immediately, and as of this very moment he was still trying to get over the noise. Incredibly though, the food didn't taste half bad. Actually, it was rather good, to all of their surprise.

Mainly Eos's surprise.

She had been situated in Deidara's room, a small room that desperately needed a cleaning hand. It wasn't a bedroom that had clothes tossed around in it, no, it was a bedroom that appeared to be never used. The bed was still nicely made, no wrinkles, while the room's smell proved it was never been used.

It was dusty…

Really dusty…

Deidara got a kick out of it though, he never thought _his _room of all rooms would be dirty. Then again, he also said that there was no true point in having a room because he would always be on missions. Eos wasn't impressed, since she was going to be cleaning out this room and more than likely it was going to get stolen from her in some time.

As for the leader, it seemed that he would never come out of his own room. She always wondered what he did in there, if there was anything to do in there. She had come up with millions of ideas, and had asked Tobi if they were possible. Each time she asked they were always shot down immediately.

Eos was always bothering Tobi, only because he was always bothering her for food. It was much more easier talking to the masked man than talking to her Sensei. Ever since that night by the river, she had troubles saying a few words to him. Those words came out slowly and quietly and she never understood why. However, Deidara does try to start up conversations that include her, but it seems to backfire most of the time.

Like dumplings . . .

Of all the things he wanted to talk about . . .

It was dumplings . . .

He was complaining on how she never made any sweets, just lazy and boring rice. He would smile and throw his fist into his hand, then speak about that it would be better if she were to make other things besides curry and rice. Eos would ignore him most of the time, mainly due the fact that all they had was rice and some other oils. One day, she figured, she was going to poison them with the worst food she could badger up.

That was during the first few weeks she had been with the Akatsuki. But today, today was a little more different she feared. Today, two more people are going to show their faces and Eos was just a little curious what they looked like.

The morning started like they all did, still slightly dark outside and anyone could smell the fresh dew of the morning. She would wake up alone in her room, like always, and rub away at her eyes. If she had the choice to sleep in, she would, but there was food to be made and bowls to get clean from the day before.

She would brush out the knots in her hair and lazily pull it all up into a high ponytail. Then, when she felt a little more awake, she decided to get started on the food.

As she was just walking out of her room, indeed the morning's fresh air felt so good in lungs. But, a sudden inhale and a loud smack onto the wooden porch made Eos hate the world.

"Nice . . . un." Came a fatigued voice from behind her.

Oh, she wanted to hurt him. He purposely did that, didn't he?

Painfully, she pushed herself back into standing position. Then, she heard a yawn.

She had tripped over him and he was asleep? Kami, how bad can she get?

She glanced behind her back and saw Deidara fighting back sleep, but his eyes were slowly losing. Sighing, she continued her usual route to the kitchen.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing up so early, un?"

Eos stopped and turned around to glare at him, stomping her feet and pointing at him. Deidara's eyes went wide and he blinked curiously at why she was throwing sparks at him so early in the morning. He raised his eyebrow and sighed.

"It's all your fault!" Eos yelled at him and Deidara quickly went into panic mode. Running over to her, he smacked his hand against her mouth to quickly silence her.

"Are you insane, un!" he silently whispered back to her, but the expression on his face clearly said agitation.

She gave him a blank stare, and tried to muffle something silently to him but Deidara wouldn't allow it. He got closer to her face and glared at her.

"Continue to yell like that and Rei-sama's going to have my head, un!" He yelled softly at her, his face only inches away from hers.

"Aw . . . Eos-kun looks like a perfect match for you Deidara-san!"

Deidara's face faltered as he continued to stare at Eos helplessly, "Or, you'll wake up the resident idiot . . . un." He felt Eos smile underneath his hand, and he instantly glared back at her but it quickly faded away into a pout.

"Who are you calling an idiot Deidara-san?" said Tobi as he casually walked up to the two with his arms behind his head. Deidara removed his hand from her mouth slowly and turned to Tobi, rubbing his head.

"How can anyone get up at this hour . . . un?" Shaking his head, he turned his back on both of them and went back to his spot only a few steps away from them. Eos watched him, but when she stared at him she noticed a dull spot.

"Sen-"

"Eos-kun, don't you need to be somewhere?"

Her hand barely had a chance to reach out to him, it's distance between her and the man she didn't know still rather far. When a foreign hand grabbed onto her upper arm and pulled her back Eos quickly snapped out of her thoughts.

"Tobi?"

"Eos-kun, does the word 'cook' strike anything in you?"

Eos went into an instant glare, "Yeah, wrath."

Tobi laughed with this comment, soon letting go of her upper arm and having to kneel down to hold his laughter in. Eos was confused, she told him a direct answer, not meaning to make him laugh.

"Forgive me Eos-kun, your expression was just priceless."

"My . . . expression."

Her expression?

Deidara opened his eye slightly to just get a peek at the girl who stood a couple feet from him. Her hand raised to her neck while her other wrapped around her stomach. With the slit in her clothing on the side, Deidara could easily see the bare pale skin of her toned leg. An amber eye stared at her body, and without him knowing it, he was observing her every movement. But, there was one question that came to his mind.

When did she start wearing that type of clothing?

He had never noticed her style before, but now he could see it clearly, as if not looking through a haze of fog. Then, Deidara quickly looked away and busied himself with the thought of her. She was as small as a board and wasn't worth anytime.

"Well, well, well, we have a newcomer."

The sudden voice jolted Deidara's upper body straight. His eye immediately opened to his surroundings and his body went stiff.

"Ah! Kisame-san! Welcome back!" Yelled Tobi happily while the girl by his side slowly stared at the man with a blue face. The new person who had just shown up confused her. Who was he?

"She's off limits Fish face, un!"

As if he was ignoring the comment the man made while he was sitting down, Kisame proceeded toward Eos. Then, she got a clearer view of why her Sensei had called the man "fish face." Being a girl with many fears, she nearly felt obliged to be afraid of this one. He had small round eyes shaped just like a shark's. His toothy grin was almost the first thing that pushed her a step backward.

The man's hand went up to her chin and grabbed a hold of it fiercely. His thumb nearly digging into the thin flesh that covered her chin. Eos didn't grimace but her eyes did narrow and her eyebrows lowered. Kisame's animal grin shot a single spark up her back and into her arm. Her hand went quickly to his elbow and hit it away from her face.

"Heh, but it seems you caught an ugly rodent and not something that fits my taste."

Eos glowered at the man; her hands went into tight fists. Who was he to judge her like that?

An Akatsuki of course . . .

A hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back sharply, "Good, then stay the hell away from her, un." It was that smile again, the smile tainted with the blood and sadness of many people. It was fake, she knew, but it was Deidara's perfect creation. Nobody could see that it was merely a cover-up of something inside him.

Of course, in this situation, she didn't mind him using it against someone she was about to tackle. But his hand was extremely tight on her arm, she could've sworn her arm was about to snap with the amount of pressure.

"I see you haven't changed chicken shit." Grinned Kisame as he took another glance at the girl behind Deidara.

"Neither have you . . . un."

Pain . . .

It struck her hard in her upper arm and she bit back the urge to whimper.

"Um, you guys aren't going to start another fight, are you?" Spoke Tobi wearily, his shoulders slouched and his arms went limp.

"No, not today at least. Right, Kisame?"

Kisame sighed, he knew what would happen if he were to attack the brat but still . . . Couldn't he at least enjoy beating Deidara into a pulp?

He frowned and walked away, "chi."

Deidara took a deep breath, his smile immediately disappearing and he glared seriously at Eos. His amber eye locked onto her shut ones.

Then she spoke, "ow."

"Good."

Her eyes shot open, "What?"

"Don't you _ever_ think you can take down a member of the Akatsuki."

All blood drained from Eos's face and seemed to get stuck in her neck. His eye, it was the same one he had on back then. It had shown her superiority over her once before, and even when covered in blood, it never failed Deidara. He was serious with her, no emotion leaked from his face for her to read. Her neck was beginning to get hot, extremely hot, like there was a fire behind her.

She was speechless, without even knowing it, he had pushed her back into a mental corner.

"Deidara-san, stop! You'll break her arm!"

And he did stop; he let go of her arm with a hard push of his hand. All sensation ran back into her fingers and it stung. She gripped her hand tightly and stared at it. Her emerald eyes hesitantly followed the blonde as he disappeared behind a corner.

He had actually scared her.

"Eos-kun, are you alright?" Tobi quickly got onto the porch and put his gloved hands on her shoulders. Shakily, she looked back to Tobi and took an unsteady breath. Her heart was racing, it's fierce pounding echoed in her head. Tobi stared at her, his hands slightly moved her.

Then, Eos pushed Tobi away, her face once again recovering from a bitter battle with Deidara. Tobi wobbled backward and stared at Eos incredulously. She stomped off angrily and went straight for the kitchen, ignoring anyone who would dare stop her. He took a step back to watch her walk away but found there was nothing there underneath his foot. Waving his arms around, he fell backward onto his back and gave a short "huff" when he hit. Tobi sighed, never before had he been pushed back by a girl . . .

Was Eos really a girl? . . .

* * *

Deidara silently walked down the porch, his head lowered while his blonde strands of hair swished back and forth in front of his face. He had blown it, completely and thoroughly destroyed any possibilities with Eos. He had scared her and even frightened a part of him off. The part of him that still held emotions, though very little, it still held them. The soft chirping of the birds around them only seemed to magnify as his mind still held the image of her face. Terrified, she was terrified just like in their past. Before those three years of separation, he and Eos were more like close friends.

Yeah, he could remember those days . . .

But those days are only the last flicker of a firecracker, slowly fading away and resting once more on the earth from which it came. Those memories were dead to him he thought, but with that expression of fear on her face, how could he forget. To him . . . she was . . .

* * *

_"Deidara-sensei! WAIT UP!" yelled a girl wearing modest clothing in the colors of tan and yellow. Her short light brown hair swishing to each side of her head as she ran. _

The two men in front of her turned around, except Deidara faced her completely. His eyes held that glint of childish fun and his smile ever so mischievous, a smile that never warned anything.

"Hey, hey, you can't get that far behind, un! You'll end up being food for some predator, un!" He teased, though he really knew there were no predators in that part of the world. When Eos finally caught up to him, she smiled through her pants of air. Deidara couldn't help but smile back; he loved to tease this little girl.

"Hey, if we don't hurry . . . we'll die of thirst." Spoke the other man, short and large. His face covered by a thin black fabric while his head was covered with the Akatsuki hat.

Eos grinned, "You could've just let me die of thirst ya'know."

Deidara's grin grew wider, "Oh, I can't do that . . . un. You are, after all, my one and only student."

He didn't truly want to say that back then, but with Sasori around what else could he have said?

"Huh? Now you're excepting me as your student."

In truth, he actually wanted to tell her . . .

"Bah! You women!"

He actually . . .

"I'm a girl, Sensei!" Eos laughed as she ran ahead of him, her smile was still an imprint on her face.

He wanted to tell her . . .

Deidara smiled deeply, even if in the Akatsuki it was illegal to show your true emotions, he did it anyway.

He . . .

* * *

"Break it."

Amber eyes snapped open to realization and the muscles in stomach. Deidara stopped moving and looked behind to see a man with long black hair leaning against the doorway. His distant black eyes stared him down, and his face, one that rather annoyed Deidara, was emotionless.

"What . . . un?"

* * *

_"Why?" she cried, her hands now shakily holding her body up from the hard ground. "Why are you leaving?" _

A man in a straw hat and a long black coat with white and red clouds stood several feet from her. His head didn't turn to her, his body wouldn't allow it, he couldn't allow it.

"Tell me!" she yelled, her glossy green eyes shooting up to the man's back. Her jaw clenched angrily shut and her face able to hold a new expression. It was an expression that was easily taught to her during the beginning days with him.

"Deidara-sensei why-"

"Next time we meet, un."

The girl's eyes narrowed and her body slowly straightened upward.

The man's head turned toward her, a large smile placing it's rightful spot upon his face.

"Just call me sensei."

* * *

His mind was in a daze, why had he trusted Eos's cooking. She had probably put some kind of ingredient in his rice to make him feel like this. With his hand placed into a knotted mess of blonde hair, Deidara made his way through the base. He wanted to go to bed, wanted to get enough sleep so that the next day he wouldn't be bothered by the early drowsiness. Tilting his head slightly back, he closed his eyes and placed the palm of his hand onto his brow. He grimaced, never before had he been this tired before.

Then again, never before had he thought of the past as much…

Deidara cursed himself as he found his comfortable, yet not so comfortable, spot next to his bedroom door. He fell down onto the hard wood and glared at the moon above. Yet, the question still lingered why was he so tired?

The question was immediately shot into the back of his mind when he began hearing the soft tones of a flute. Inside the base, it majestically echoed and it's sound was more like a chant of a distant choir. The hand on his brow slowly fell as he continued to listen to the music; his amber eye stared at nothing and slowly his vision blurred.

Go figure . . . everytime he's really tired there's always a flute in the background that keeps him awake.

Deidara stood up and quickly made his way to the courtyard, yet he never truly saw where he was going. All his senses were focused on that one sound.

Then he stopped when one of his senses, sight, went on full alert. There, standing in the middle of the courtyard doing precisely as Deidara had done when he heard the flute, was the leader of the Akatsuki. Deidara wasn't accustomed to staring at the elder man, but that night didn't seem to be a bad night to do it.

Dark eyes turned to Deidara; "It's an old lullaby."

Deidara frowned as he watched the leader's face; of course it was a lullaby, but an old one?

"I don't like it, it reminds me of something I left behind." With that said, the leader walked off, his footsteps quiet and didn't penetrate the soft melody. It became even softer, causing the blonde to even close his eyes to find where it was coming from. His feet begun to step further, not even understanding where they were leading his body toward. Slowly, but surely, he walked off the dark porch toward the direction of the cave. A large and empty hole within the cliff wall, unaffected by the illusion cast around the base. As he approached it, his eye gradually opened to peer inside the entrance.

Then like a strong piece of wire wrapping around his body, Deidara stopped. He could barely see the reason why a flute was playing, and he didn't know what to think about it. There she was, sitting inside the unlit cave with a silver tube to her face. The flute slightly shone inside the cave, a white line sliding up and down it's exterior as it moved carefully.

Eos?

He watched her and without even noticing it, a crooked grin began to make itself known to his face. Propping himself up by the cave wall, he crossed his arms as he observed her very small movements.

* * *

_"Deidara-sensei?" _

"What . . . un?" The blonde turned to look over his shoulder, noticing a girl who was thoroughly interested in what exactly he was doing.

"Why . . . do you sculpt birds? Why not use real birds?" She quirked her head toward him, her curiosity was easily read as her emerald eyes looked at him. That annoying bang still hung in front of her face, slicing through the colors that were definitely hers.

Deidara let an irritated sigh slip through his lips, "It's called art ya' know . . . un."

Raising an eyebrow, she was about to ask a question and he knew it, but he beat her to the punch.

"Why don't you try something artistic . . . un?"

She gave a coy grin, "artistic, me?"

A mischievous grin fell into place and he nodded, "Ya' know, to pass by some time when you're bored . . . un."

Eos laughed, standing up straight she pointed to herself, "When will I get bored?"

He never realized how childish her laugh sounded, it was more like a giggle than a chuckle.

Deidara's grin widened, "who knows . . . un?"

* * *

She must've had a lot of time on her hands during these past few years. For her to take up an instrument and learn to play it was a miracle in itself. Then again, time does change people. His grin fell and he looked to the crumbling ground.

It was his fault.

Every single day, whenever he was on a mission, she was somewhere off in the distance trying to survive. And survive, she did. It appeared she did pretty well off on her own. An amber eye peered back to the being who still played the flute.

It would've been best for her if he had never brought her there, to the Akatsuki base. She doesn't realize it, but now she's in more danger than before.

A slight kick of a rock sent Deidara out of his thoughts and straight toward the girl. Her emerald eyes wide, and her hands stuck onto the flute in hand. He could tell that fear was threatening to appear on her face. Her body froze in mere anticipation, her face wishing to never have turned toward him. And that annoying bang kept it's place to the front of her face.

Deidara grinned as he turned away, his arms falling to his sides as he to, began to walk away. His footsteps sounded odd compared to the symphony that had, just moments ago, sang in his ears.

Eos held the flute in her hands, grasping it as if it were to be taken away from her. She had been caught, and to her own surprise, it was Deidara who had seen her. Stuffing the metal tube into her belt, Eos started to rise from the ground and made her way out of the darkness and into a world of blue light. A blue light that made almost everything look innocent, even the rocks that jutted out from the cliff looked as if they were only doing what they were told.

She thought to herself, "how naïve I am."

TBC…

* * *

AN: GAH! Now you know why this chapter took so long to get out! I tried my hardest to keep everything within logical range of Deidara's character . . . I just hope I didn't overdo it . . .

* * *

Next Chapter: He laughs now, and his smile seems to be healing. Maybe, somewhere within his deep darkness there is a ray of light that casts down on her. His ray of light . . . Could it be that the great wall that guards his feelings is cracking? In the next chapter of Aurora Borealis . . . Emotion.

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To all of my reviewers!

I LOVE YOU ALL!

Fanfic by ione


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Under no circumstances to I own, and I swear to you I don't, own, sadly enough, the characters belonging to, and here's the kicker, Masashi Kishimoto. I do, on the other hand, own, I love this, EOS! MINE!

_Aurora Borealis_

_Chapter Six: Emotion_

"When we are together,

And we laugh together,

It is the memories that we've shared,

That keep our senses impaired.

The past is what we rekindle,

Yet, we ignore our emotions.

Keeping in mind that my face is to you,

And yours to mine.

We let these chuckles and giggles slip away,

And lead our fake emotions astray…"

_ionegirl_

_(Break)_

_There she was, sitting inside the unlit cave with a silver tube to her face. The flute slightly shone inside the cave, a white line sliding up and down it's exterior as it moved carefully._

Deidara slowly moved his hand through his hair, his fingertips gently pushed against his sore scalp. His brownish yellow eyes stared off onto something that really wasn't there. 

Eos . . .

He couldn't seem to get the girl out of his mind, especially the other night when he saw her and that flute. Who knew that she would be the cause of all his restless nights? Surely he didn't.

She had gotten older, learned ways on how to cope with the daily happenings of life, and memorized the steps of reality. Maybe, back then, it was a good idea to leave her alone in Rock Country.

Ah Hell!

If he couldn't get her out of his mind, then why not enjoy the sweet satisfaction of annoying her!

Annoying her?

Deidara's hand fell from his head and slowly he rubbed his chin. A large smile took its place on his lips.

Oh yes, annoying her might be fun… un.

(In Kitchen)

"BAH! Stupid rice!" Eos glared angrily at the food tossed around on the floor. One minute . . . ONE minute she leaves the kitchen unattended and the pot just seems to overflow with joy. Next minute, there's steaming hot rice over the entire floor. It seemed life would never look up to her kindly.

She huffed to her side and grabbed both sides of her hips furiously. Her lips pouting as the thought of her trying to redo what she had earlier done before lunch was slowly becoming a hassle.

"I should just feed this and see how they like it!" Eos grimaced; maybe the thought of feeding the Akatsuki dirtied food was not a good idea. She was sure that the leader would have her head almost immediately if he was fed food from the floor. Then again, how would he learn about it? Besides, they were already expecting poisoned food for some odd reason.

Picking up the scattered rice that turned a clean and cozy kitchen into the mess it originally was, she threw it into the garbage. Sighing appeared to help the fact that she would have to redo the rice.

She hated cooking . . .

That twisted Sensei of hers must've planned this . . .

Stretching out her arms to the counter, Eos lowered her head and closed her eyes. Boy, it appeared she had it hard in the Akatsuki. Apparently, the leader was already becoming frustrated with the fact that she was still alive in the base. She supposed that Rei just wanted Deidara to kill her.

"Yeesh, do I even want to come in here, un?"

Lifting her head to the window in front of her, she continued to listen to the grumbling of her Sensei. She knew his voice like the back of her hand, yet in so many ways did his personality change. Not being surprised, Eos lazily turned her head to the man in the doorway. There stood the man whom she had once knew, frowning at the mess that the pot had made and inevitably she would have to pay for it.

Amber eyes looked up to her from the floor, an almost minute sneer in them. Pointing to the doorway past the blonde, she glared.

"Go away, I'm busy!" She scowled, and playfully Deidara smiled toward her.

"And what if I don't, un?"

"I'll feed you this rice on the floor."

By now Eos had been used to Tobi's constant bothering, and Deidara's mischievous ways were starting to become dull. Lowering her finger and placing her hand on her hip, she stood her ground waiting for her Sensei to budge. Unfortunately, all he did was walk toward her, away from the area she had just recently told him to go.

"Just rice? Where's the other ingredients, un?"

Eos decided to play along, "What other ingredients? The Akatsuki are as poor as the bums on the street."

The man chuckled and gave a toothy grin, "Not even a little bit of flavoring, un?"

"What were you expecting, stone soup?"

Stone soup? Oh, the irony could run in so many ways at that moment. Each path would indefinitely lead him down to a fist or a fight. Neither path sounded satisfying, nor the thought of pushing it further would be rather distressful. He came to have fun, not to get into another fight.

Holding up both hands and weighing invisible weights, his eyes went straight to hers. She glared back, knowing that his mind had taken an unexpected turn for the worst. Preparing herself for a joke or trick to lead her into something, she sighed and looked the other way.

"I wonder how you would taste, un."

Nope, that comment was not expected and her expression clearly proved it. Eos mouth slightly dropped and Deidara knew that he had opened the wrong path.

Damn . . .

Oh well, another fight wouldn't hurt . . .

Quickly, Eos grabbed a handful of steaming rice and threw it straight at him. Easily, Deidara turned on his left heel moving him enough to dodge the white ball flying toward him. The smirk on his face still present but losing strength quickly.

Eos huffed angrily as she went to grab another wad of mushy rice and threw it at him. Again Deidara dodged it, but this time he took a leap toward her and grabbed onto her wrist. Pulling it away from her body and slightly he jerked her body along with it. A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he watched the face in front of him turn to murderous intent. He anticipated it and it's onslaught of fists that were definitely weak hits but when the expression on her face slowly lessened, it surprised him. Eos tossed her eyes away from his and glared at the wall to the side of them.

When did she suddenly learn to control her temper? Was it because of those days when she became furious at him, he would quickly jump at her.

Now that he thought about it, the more he saw and fought with Eos, the more something inside him began to crack. What it was, Deidara had a very minute idea as to what it was but pretended, or rather hoped it wasn't breaking. Before she had come to the base, he never felt any different from the day before to the day he was currently living in. Now, he could feel something inside him slowly fade away.

It was like a seal that allowed all darkness to seep through into the person, a prison for a humane soul.

It was the emotional shield he had created that was starting to dissolve. It was because of her. Her actions had slowly nudged a way into the darkness of his soul.

It had gotten quiet, a little too quiet to make Eos feel uncomfortable. Looking toward the man who still had a tight grip on her wrist, her emerald eyes immediately locked onto his. All life in the room seemed to hold still for a split second. She was trying to act like an adult for once and have him leave the room but instead she received his full attention. Or, at least, that's what it felt with him staring down at her.

Maybe acting with a minute of maturity was a wrong idea, now she had her own Sensei watching her. However, the look in his eyes told her that maybe he was thinking and not just passively staring at her.

"Um . . . Sensei?"

Watching as Deidara's amber eyes drifted from hers to something near her face, she frowned. What was he looking at?

Deidara's hand reached back inside his black and red coat for something that she didn't know exactly. She followed the movement within his coat until a hand brushed against something on her face. A painful sting on her scalp told her that he had grabbed some of her bangs and pulled on it. When her eyes caught a glimpse of a kunai in his other hand, Eos quickly grabbed onto his own bangs and pulled them. Funny it was, here they were pulling on each other's hair like babies.

"That's _my_ hair, un." An amber eye slightly glared at her but Eos kept her hand in his blond hair.

"Well, you have a hold of my hair, so I found it relatively fair."

"What do you expect! That damn strand of hair bothers me, un!" It was a genuine glare that he gave her at that moment and it was a genuine smile that she replied with. It was true, that one strand of hair was always in her face but it didn't give him the right to cut it off. No, then she would have to deal with the little baby hair it would grow out to be.

"If you let go, I'll let go." That was a stupid bargain, but a bargain to keep her hair intact.

"That's too bad because I'm not going to let go of it, un."

Eos blinked, why wouldn't he let it go? Also, seeing his dirty hand up close to her face was really beginning to bother her. Why? Well, she just couldn't find an answer to that. Glaring at him, she tugged harder at his lock of hair and could even feel some strands break off.

"OW! Hey!"

"Let go!"

Deidara glared harder this time, but it was a bit more playful than before. He had something planned and she wasn't about to fall into this criminal's plan that easily. Reaching behind her, she found the pot that she had rice boiling in still and reached in to wrench some hot water out. She felt her hand tingle for a split second, the next it felt like all life in her hand was trying to leave in pain. Ignoring it, Eos swooped her hand toward her Sensei's face for the ultimate slap.

_**In Stone Village**_

It had been a long time since she had last been in her old house. Its emptiness was in a way depressing. Old memories of two children running through the hallway, laughing, and pushing each other to reach their final destination echoed in her mind. The happy times when her father wouldn't yell at them needlessly and her mother would play along. Those were the good times of her childhood and she continued to pretend that those times were still alive.

But they weren't there any longer. Her older sibling had disappeared from her own existence. Her father constantly yelled at her and would complain about her becoming a kunoichi. Her mother had years ago passed away. She was sick in bed and couldn't handle her bedridden state thus killing herself.

Out of a family of four, there was really only two left. Only her and her father were still part of Hidden Stone Village.

"Welcome back from your mission Nami-san. I hope it went well." Said an old man who sat in front of the home's main room, two large sliding doors separated her from the ultimate truth that she was eager to hear.

_**Past**_

_"Nami, I'd like to introduce someone to you."_

_A young girl looked up to her pale mother, her delicate eyes closed happily as she led the child to the branch family in front. Nami's large amber eyes stared straight toward the tall man who gently tugged a child from behind him. _

_Nami smiled happily. Before her was a girl, maybe a year or two older than she was, but still there was a girl. She had short light brown hair and two large glossy green eyes. The girl clung to the older man, almost as if she was going to be fed to the wolves._

_Nami put her arms behind her and glanced up at her mother then to the opposite girl._

_"Hi there! My name's Kuchi Nami, what's yours?" Peering up at the adults around her, she could see how most of them were frowning and how her mother gave a slight smile at her polite antics. Nami frowned and looked toward the girl._

_The girl looked shyly upward, "E-Eos . . . Kuchi Eos."_

(End)

Damn her! Why was she still alive?

Sharp amber eyes widened toward the slowly opening door and soon fell upon the one man she wanted to speak to most. She just wanted to throw all her rage at him, and make him feel the sharp pain in her heart just to see how he would react.

There he sat, sitting casually with one arm resting on his knee, both legs crossed beneath him. His narrow amber eyes telling many stories, including one of betrayal.

"I see you're still alive."

Holding back her tongue, Nami gave the slightest of glares she could but failed miserably. Of course he wasn't happy she was still alive, why would he be? She was supposed to be a proper lady, if even that. Her older brother was the one that he cherished the most, her older brother was a prodigy and he was forced out of their lives. It was her father's fault, but those emotions had to be held behind long enough for her to get done what she needed to.

"I have a question."

There was no response, just a passive glare toward her.

"It's about that girl you kicked out of our clan. Her name was Kuchi Eos, wasn't it?"

He took no interest in the question and decided to rest his eyes by shutting them off from her.

"I hear she's alive."

The interest in her father didn't seem to grow any higher than from the height of a bug on the ground. To put it simply, he'd rather see her walk out of the room that instant.

"Also, there's a rumor and a possibility that she's with the Akatsuki."

Narrow amber eyes snapped open to her and the atmosphere told her he was now paying attention. Nami smiled at his eagerness to hear more about the S-ranked criminals who had taken such a human being as the girl who, in the past, been tossed out of the Kuchi family.

"Oh, really." He replied, hinting to her nothing about what his present mood was.

"Next week I plan to head toward Rain Country and find out for myself if this rumor is-"

Laughter soon filled the room and Nami had no choice but to stop because of the interruption. She frowned as she watched her own father laugh at something, probably at her idea. It was a normal occurrence, but this time it appeared to be a much larger reason he laughed.

Laughing in-between his words, he managed them out, "You idiot, do you really think you'll be able to infiltrate the Akatsuki that easily? Do you think that if and when you do, you'll be able to get away without being killed? You don't know their kind and especially their leader. Anyone who is fit enough to lead a group of S-ranked missing-nins is definitely more of a threat than any enemy you've fought."

Nami broke in, "Then what of Eos!"

His voice became dark and rough, "What of Eos? If she isn't dead yet, then she will be sooner or later! It's only a matter of time when that happens."

"You make it sound like you know this group pretty well!"

Finally, a threatening glare and a snarl occurred, pushing Nami a step backward.

"I can name a few of the members who have killed many ANBU and even Kage's! All of them either superb geniuses or prodigies! You stupid little girl, this is why women shouldn't become ninja's! You're all too ignorant to do anything!"

Holding back her breath, she could feel a fire rising up in her chest. She wasn't numb to his words yet, and never will she be. He may be her father, but he's the number one person on her list to kill, her next would have to be Eos.

"I'll kil-"

"Nami-sama," a large hand touched her shoulder and the girl jumped, "please back away."

_**In Rain Country**_

"Ow . . . that hurt, un."

Rubbing profusely at the burn in the shape of a hand on his cheek, Deidara whined at the sharp tingling pain it gave as he touched it. Tobi had even the nerve to try and poke the hand shaped burn but had been quickly pushed away. Why had Eos been that evil to even hurt herself to hurt him? In a way, it humored him that she had even attempted a stunt like that.

The soft cold breeze made it feel better though, and it drifted through his hair and touching the sweat on his skin brought chills up his back. When was the last time he felt a powerful wind against his body? When was the last time he felt free and inspired?

Why was he so . . .

"Depressed?"

Stole the words right from his mouth . . .

Giving a slight jerk of his body toward the woman who stood a good meter away from him, he stared at how the soft blue moonlight made her glow. Her green eyes peered up to the glittering night sky; each star shining as bright as the day it was born. She loved the night sky; it was much more alive than any other time of day.

"Eos?"

"Hm?"

He could tell she was entranced by the small hole in the illusion that allowed the bright night sky to be clearly seen. That annoying strand of hair however, still held its ungodly place in her face. Deidara's amber eyes turned away from her, all the while, something inside him felt uncomfortable.

"Did you want to ask something?" She pondered curiously as her green eyes stared at the side of his head.

Deidara looked further away than he originally did before. The distance between the two seemed to grow each day they were together. At least, that's what it felt to her.

"No."

She frowned, her eyes looked away from him back up to the sky. A soft smile then gracefully made it's way onto her face. Shifting her body, she closed her eyes and put her arms behind her back, a habit that she had gained from somebody else long ago.

_You're my little Aurora . . . _

The words back then didn't even faze her, the melody they made, as she would imagine herself among her family. It was something that her child self rarely ever did back then. Bending her knees, she decided to take a spot beside her Sensei to sit and enjoy the stars.

Deidara slightly glanced at her, his hand slowly dropped from his cheek as he saw the peaceful look on her face. There was an instant flashback that made the present Eos look like the one she did when he first met her. It was a shaky moment that made Deidara feel odd.

"Sensei, can I tell you a story?"

Deidara glared straight at her, "Why do I need to hear one, un?"

Turning her head, Eos smiled at him making herself appear like the child she once was but was no longer.

"You don't, but I'd still like to tell it. Even if you're not going to listen."

Sighing in defeat, Deidara fell backwards onto his back, putting his right arm underneath his head.

"When I was little girl, my father used to tell me a certain story." Her smile faded away and her head turned away from him, where he could only watch the back of her head carefully.

"He used to tell me the story of the Goddess of the Dawn, known as Aurora. Have you ever seen the Aurora?"

Deidara frowned, "One moment you're talking about the Goddess, the next you're asking if I've ever seen _it_? I think you need to get your facts straight, un."

Eos laughed, "I was asking about the Aurora Borealis."

The frown still didn't disappear, "Never heard of it."

"Really?" She turned her head slightly so that Deidara could see just her small cheekbone, "Well, it's the most beautiful night time spectacular. I've only seen it once and that was when I was just a child, not even old enough to leave the house." A small chuckle eased its way into the air, "When the Aurora occurs, there's a magnificent display of different colors in many ribbons. They move so delicately in the sky and then they seem to disappear. That's the Aurora Borealis."

Quirking an eyebrow, Deidara stared at the back of her head intensely, "That was a nice side story, back to the topic?"

Eos flinched, "Oh, sorry, I guess I'm really bad at this story telling process."

Irritability was starting to make its way into his stomach.

"Any way, about the Goddess, she was one of the most beautiful women in the sky, third to Amaterasu and the Goddess of love. One day, the Goddess of love put a curse upon Aurora and sent her down to Earth because Aurora had fallen in love with the Goddess's lover-"

"That sucks."

Eos glared at Deidara and he just laughed nervously, "go on, un!"

Her face didn't turn, "Do you know what that curse was?"

Deidara shook his head and Eos sighed and turned away from him again.

"The curse was that she could only fall in love with mortals."

He chuckled, "one point for us, un."

Eos gave a short and nearly silent laugh, implying that she to thought it was funny.

"When Aurora reached Earth, it didn't take her long to find a person she loved. He was brave, strong, and a mortal god. He was the mortal god of Earth, and she did indeed love him. However, he died after many years and Aurora was torn, she didn't know how to cope with his death."

"Hey Eos, how is this relevant?"

Pretending as if she had never heard, she continued, "Then one day, Aurora went to the edge of the ocean and stared at the rising sun above the water. There, she spoke a melody, praying to the Gods in the universe to help her through her trial, and they taught her something new. A way to continue living. She became the one of the guardian's of Earth in the form of the beautiful colors in the sky. It was at that time when Aurora gained the title 'The Goddess of the Dawn.' She would be the one to tell sailors if it was safe to travel on the water."

"And they lived happily ever after, blah, blah, blah . . ." Rolling onto his side, Deidara sighed, "I should've figured that it was going to be a happy ending, un. It's just so over done."

Then he felt a fist jam itself into his leg, and he immediately jumped up and glared at the girl. Except, his glare faltered when he saw her peering down at him like an insect.

"Do you know why my father told me that story?"

"No?"

Eos looked down to the ground, "Of course you wouldn't."

Deidara blinked, was there something he missed that he shouldn't have. Crossing his arms over his chest and lowering his head, he began to ponder if anything in her story really meant something. No, there was nothing that he could've caught, so why was she so upset?

"Well . . . "

"My name, Deidara."

Wait . . .

No formality with that at all?

Where's the usual 'Sensei?'

"Your name?"

Eos smiled and looked up to the sky again, kicking her feet in opposite ways as she stared. Her face turned toward Deidara, a slight blush worked its way onto her face.

What was she thinking?

"My father named me Eos because of how beautiful I was when I was born, or so he used to say to me." Deidara frowned as he stared at her slightly, both his hands resting in his lap.

"The name Eos, is the ancient name of Aurora, the Goddess of the Dawn."

He held still for a moment in time, a moment that felt to last for hours. He stared at her and watched as her own face became hesitant and looked away. Was he making her feel uneasy in what she had said?

It was then when all barriers inside him shattered, he had no control over his next movement. As his hand reached over to her chin, he gently turned her head toward his.

"Look at me."

Eos's green eyes immediately locked with his, and within that second something seemed to fill Deidara. The emotion was foreign to him and yet, it did not quite feel unpleasant.

Confusion swarmed within her mind by the look within her Sensei's eye. She wasn't sure but the raw emotion emitting from his amber eye almost scared her.

It was odd, she thought, as it seemed like it was just yesterday that they were jumping down each other's throats. Yet now, with the serenity of the atmosphere surrounding them, she could forgive him.

"Sen . . . sei?" Eos questioned hesitantly, not wanting to break the spell.

Her eyes grew wide as she watched with building anticipation as Deidara slowly moved his hand to her cheek.

The past, the future, none of it mattered to Deidara. Just the present, this moment here with Eos. A slight smirk lifted his lips as Deidara breathed, "You owe me for my cheek, un."

Eos gave a gentle giggle as her reply; her eyes slowly closed as she felt small puffs of air on her lips. They were so close now, much closer than ever before in the past.

"Deidara! Come to my room immediately!" yelled Rei from his distant room. Deidara inwardly glared at the man, he seemed to have a knack to ruin good moments. Amber eyes opened as well did her emerald ones. Being so close felt so strange, these movements . . .

Can he forget about Rei for another minute? . . .

Eos carefully grabbed Deidara's hand from her cheek and moved it away. A small smile worked its way onto her lips and her emerald eyes closed again.

"You should go."

That face was something rather familiar to him, pained and yet, not wanting to release the moment. It was the face that girl would always give him even when it wasn't the right time for it.

Pulling his hand away from hers and once again putting back the distance between them, Deidara begun to stand. All the while, a smile still drifted over his lips. He looked down at the girl who, just seconds ago, he was trying to kiss. It was funny how he was gradually changing because of her.

She really had no choice but to stare at him as he began to walk away. Well, maybe she did have a choice but her mind refused to look away. She was about to kiss him, her own Sensei, the man she thought had disappeared forever.

She was going to kiss the Deidara she knew . . .

Covering her mouth in an instinctive manner, her eyes grew wide with surprise. Under her chest her heartbeat grew loud, so loud that even the animals outside the walls of the base could hear it.

Her eyes went from the empty hallway to the ground; her hand fell to her chest to feel her own heart flutter.

Without even knowing it, Eos was starting to fall in love with him.

(In Rei's Room)

When Deidara opened the door to the leader's relatively large room, he only heard one thing.

"All right, this is your new partner Tobi."

Deidara stopped in the doorway and glared at the masked man in an Akatsuki coat. He was stuck with _him_? Why?

"Deidara-san, looks like I'm with you now!" happily rejoiced the new member of Akatsuki, raising both his arms to the ceiling.

Deidara gave a pleading look toward Rei, hoping that the leader himself would understand. Of course, though, he didn't.

"Do you go against me?" The man asked as his eyes rested on Deidara.

More like glared at him . . .

"No, but-"

"Good. Now for your next mission."

Slouching in defeat, Deidara decided that since he wasn't going to be able to get away, he might as well join the younger man. He slumped to the floor and crossed his arms angrily, half glaring at the man sitting beside him.

Tobi could feel the disappointment in Deidara, only because an amber eye was situated on him. It didn't surprise him though, Deidara never really like him in the first place, but maybe things might change now that he's stuck with him?

Nope, probably not.

"This next mission deals with an assassination order of a Feudal Lord from a Feudal Lord."

"They're just out to get each other's heads now, un."

Tobi sighed, "Looks that way."

The leader continued, "We'll be paid 300,000 yen if we succeed in assassinating the man, so make sure you do it correctly this time." His eyes fell upon Deidara almost immediately and Deidara tossed a glare the opposite way.

"Fine, un."

"Where is it located?" asked Tobi, wondering if that was all that was implied in the mission statement.

"Rock Country in the village southeast of Stone Village."

Deidara froze; he didn't even want to attempt looking at the elder man who was probably staring at him. The leader could be so sadistic at times; it wasn't even considered funny in his book. He knew that village, and even worse, he probably knew the Feudal Lord who was going to be killed. This wouldn't be easy for him to get away unnoticed. This mission definitely required him to wear his hat all the time.

Eh, oh well . . .

If anything, he could get Tobi to kill the fat man.

Then again, maybe luck would be nice to him and have the fat man fall on Tobi. Might prove to be an interesting journey…

"Any questions?"

"Nope." Deidara said that as he stood up, his signature grin made its place on his face. Oh yes, this was certainly going to be a fun mission…

_**TBC . . .**_

_Next Chapter_

Memories of the past are relived once again when two siblings see each other once more. In the darkest hour of the mission, who will be the one who fails? In the next chapter of Aurora Borealis, "Siblings."

AN: Well, whatdya guys think? You all should be happy, I gave you a hint of citrus, ne? Expect the next chapter to be EXTREMELY long, because there's going to be a lot put into it. Might have two parts! (Part One, Part Two) There's a lot… Also! I'm sorry that there aren't any page breaks, but Fanfiction would let me. Stupid "Error on Page"! I guess, i'll have to delete all the cookies... Hope you enjoyed it!

To all my reviewers, I LOVE YOU ALL! Continue to revive me in my story, I really suck at finishing stories…

**Mersea**: It isn't easy trying to write about the lives of the Akatsuki, you're definitely right!

**Jazzy Uchiha**: YAY! I try hard to please everyone! 'Specially you!

**Devil-girllie**: Here's a chappy for ya, hope you enjoy it! Sorry it took so long, I had a lot to do these past two months.

**Demon of Water**: Here's a chappy for ya, I'm glad you like my story. This story was actually one of the ones I didn't expect lots of people to like. Since it's a DeiOC. But I'm glad you like it!

**Sarehptar**: "pounces" YAY! I'm glad you actually liked it! That means I'm doing good, ne? Well, thanks for the review! Hope you liked this chapter to!

Fanfic by ione


	7. Chapter 7 Part One

AN: All right, I have decided to give this chapter two parts. Sorry, but there is just way too much to put in this chapter.

* * *

Chapter Seven

PART ONE

Aurora Borealis

* * *

_There he stood, dried blood soaked into his small white lines in his black and red coat. Old blood and wounds made themselves known. A slice to his face, a careless wound, swollen and red. Eos's hands dropped to her sides and her body locked in place. All the words that had been told to her while he was gone were starting to sink into her heart. Tears rolled down her cheeks and for what reason she couldn't understand. She felt the need to cry, she felt the need to run, and for most of all the need to help him. _

_Deidara stared at her, his amber eye slightly narrowed by the sight of her tears. What was she unhappy about, he had come out of battles in worse conditions. Wanting to say something, Deidara whispered under his breath a question that was silent to the world. _

* * *

It had been three days, three days of alone time, three days of peace, and three days to remember the night before he left. The picture of Deidara leaning toward her was still fresh in her mind. That night, it was rather hard for her to fall asleep with the raw emotions still swirling in her mind.

Setting down the large iron pot, Eos's eyes stared off into nothing. To say the least, she felt lonely without having him around but was also relieved that he wasn't there. If the leader hadn't asked Deidara to go to his room, what would have happened? Would they have just kissed or would something more happen?

The little extra thought that went through her mind had immediately brought a bright red to her face. It was Deidara she was thinking about! Who knows what would have happened?

Emerald eyes gazed down into the empty pot, half wanting to look anywhere else.

Even Tobi was gone and Kami knows where Zetsu always disappears off to. The other two Akatsuki's that she hadn't really been introduced to seem to vanish. From that first day, they had never been seen. It was only she and the leader now, no one else and for some odd reason, Eos felt very uncomfortable with the thought that the leader was the only one left.

Wherever Deidara and Tobi were, she just hoped they would hurry up and get back to the base.

* * *

Rock Country

* * *

"It says here that you are a Jounin with ANBU skills. Hm. Why haven't you become an ANBU officer?" A man with a pudgy face and squinted eyes peered up through the tops of his cheeks and frowned. Wearing typical clothing for a high class Feudal Lord, he was definitely ranked as the leading donator to the Stone Village.

"I was one at one time, however, I decided that I much more enjoyed being a Jounin than ANBU officer."

"Hm? Let's see here . . ." The man looked through the papers until he finally found the one he was looking for. "Kuchi Nami, was it?"

From a good meter away from him, a short giggle was his reply and he looked up. The girl nodded, her eyes remained closed.

"No wonder you're such a great ninja, you're from a very powerful family. Except, I've been hearing that your family is slowly dying away."

Nami's smile didn't fade as she held in the bitterness and tried to swallow the sad fact. True, their family had been decreasing in numbers but it was to be expected.

"Well then, I guess this means that you are my new bodyguard. I will pay a fair 350,000 yen to protect me."

Nami nodded, "very well, I'll take my leave now." Turning around, she walked away from the rich man.

* * *

Stupid fat men . . .

They have some fat mouths . . .

Nami continued walking down the street with her arms behind her head, a frown held firm in place. Her amber eyes only slits to their original size.

Sure she was from a prominent family with a prominent curse, but she was different from them all. Inside her was something that no ninja could possibly possess, something that even her father had no idea about. There was only one man she would confide in, and that man was her brother.

* * *

"Only two more days, then we can leave Deidara-senpai."

Looking over to Tobi through the small area of vision he allowed himself to wear with the straw hat and the coat, Deidara glared. Suddenly he was senpai? Well, it's better than having Tobi think he's the best in the Akatsuki, after all, all Deidara would have to do is beg Itachi to fight Tobi.

Yes, beg . . .

Moving his right hand to his straw hat, he slightly grabbed a hold of it and moved it. The soft jingle of the bells connected to the hat blurred out the busy noises in the market place. Though they were hiding in the alleyway, Deidara still thought it best to wear the hat. After all, in this country he wasn't thought of kindly. If ANBU happen to see them, it would be all over, either they would have to kill the officers or be captured. Deidara was sure that it would turn up to be either of those cases.

Letting out a restrained breath, Deidara's amber eye peered over at the moving street to the side of them. There were old men carrying carts of straw and other goods and even children running in to do some errands.

It was slightly funny how he couldn't remember much of his childhood.

Actually, maybe that was because he had no childhood.

"Deidara-senpai, can I ask you a question?"

Slowly turning his head, he gave an incredulous stare and with a sarcastic tone in his voice evident, "no?"

"Well, how do you plan on killing the feudal lord? He's probably going to have some bodyguards."

Deidara turned the opposite direction of the alleyway into the market street, as he left he answered Tobi's question.

"That's all up to you this time, un."

"EH!"

* * *

"Eos, was it?"

The sudden voice shocked her, making her jump into the air and spin around in the kitchen. Her emerald eyes fell upon the figure of the leader and her stomach was starting to regret it. His piercing gaze seemed to shoot right through her, hurting something inside her.

"Y-yes." She stumbled over the word but knew quite well that it didn't matter. Biting her lip, she watched as the man approached the pot she was currently cooking rice in. His narrow eyes stared at the boiling rice, spewing up in bubbles and fizzling at the sides. When his eyes finally reached hers, an extreme apprehension fell upon her. The mere anticipation of his words was something that doom itself would be afraid of.

"I need to speak with you." With that said he stood straight and turned, all the while their eyes stayed locked until his back was completely to her. Without even realizing it, her hands went for her chest and clutched onto the green and blue fabric underneath. She hadn't even noticed that she wasn't breathing until her lungs demanded the air. Deciding it might be better to turn off the fire and follow the elder man, Eos fumbled with the water at her side.

Why she had gotten so nervous while being around him, she didn't know. Maybe the atmosphere was the reason, having the leader walk in on her while she cooked was not a usual occurrence.

Walking out of the kitchen she noticed two men retreating slowly from the leaders room, two men she didn't know. The man with white hair looked toward her briefly and stopped, his face curious upon seeing her. Then smiling, he walked off and turned the corner with his companion. Eos's eyes soon drifted across the wooden walls to Rei's slightly open door. In there, something was about to occur, something that she might not be ready for.

Her feet were the first things to respond to what had happened just minutes ago. Soundly she approached the open door with slight light exiting the room. Opening the door so that she could enter, her eyes fell onto the leaders sitting body. With his elbow on a small reading table, and his hand propping his head up. His eyes were lowered to the floor and they didn't bother on looking up to her. Eos closed the door and hesitantly sat down in front of him, setting her hands on her knees and also looking to the green floor below.

It took a couple of minutes before he even moved to speak, "I'll be blunt and I will not argue with you." His eyes remained closed as his head fell back. Whatever he was thinking about, it was something that was aimed straight at her.

Eos nodded, knowing that speaking would not be wise to do.

"I'm giving you a choice."

"A choice?" the words just slipped out of her mouth instinctively, she had no control over her own lips. What was the leader speaking about, didn't she have a choice this entire time? Or was she just a prisoner, a hostage with no real purpose?

Hands softly grabbed onto the green fabric underneath, finger tips feeling the rough cotton.

"You may leave or you could stay here and," the leader dipped his head to his side, "more than likely be killed."

Emerald scanned the man's face, looking for a glimpse of emotion that certainly was ripped away from him.

"What would you like me to do?"

Narrow eyes darted toward her green ones and an instant shock stung her face.

"Leave."

No . . .

How could she leave? . . .

Eos paused for a moment before she let her head fall, unconsciously her own hands gripped harder onto the fabric. She bit the inside of her cheek softly, and her jaw clenched. The light in the room was slight, the only light to the side of them gave shadows of her body. Her eyes covered by her thin dark blonde hair.

She couldn't leave him, never would she be able to watch him leave her life again. Except this time, it would be him having to watch her back as she left.

No, she couldn't have that . . .

Not after what happened that night on the porch. Sure, in the past she would've gladly left the base if it meant she could keep her life. Now, it felt so much different. There was a connection to the base that reacted like her chains, keeping her bolted to her own place in a cell where the only light was the small crack in the wall.

"I . . ." she hesitated in her vowel, and she didn't want to say another word.

"I'm not pressuring you, you may decide within a weeks time."

A week . . .

Would Deidara be back in a week?

If he doesn't come back, she might make her decision to leave. To leave him, to leave what she had just found, and to be forced to make a living in the outside world would be a pain. It was odd how she found this base very comforting, it felt more safe than what she had felt in the past.

"I . . . "

Damn him, it was all his fault!

If Deidara hadn't tried to kiss her then maybe everything would've been all right.

Maybe . . .

Maybe it just had to be this way . . .

"Before you make irrational decisions, I want to inform you that you'll either be killed or experience someone close to you die if you stay here."

Her eyes shot up to him, all the emotions drained from her face easily. She knew where this was going and knew that it would lead to _someone_ she cared for dying.

"There's a possibility that Deidara himself will die in battle, I wouldn't be the least surprised if he did."

What was he?

Did he actually care for her?

No!

"But!" the word slipped and her body leaned in toward him, "but, even if he were to die, at least-"

"At least what? You'd be happy? Doubtful, misery is the only thing that comes from this organization. Anyone tied to others outside will be in pain and will have to make a decision!"

"Why!" Eos yelled back, not knowing exactly how to control her body at the moment. She bit back onto her cheek and looked away. Taking a deep breath, she tried to continue with what she said.

"Why do they have to make horrible decisions, they're human to. No matter how empty the person seems, they will always have emotions."

A hand shot out to her kimono, grabbing to two pieces of fabric in his tight hand.

"That's why I have them break their bonds, so that they lose that emotion. Emotions get in the way, blur a Shinobi's path, and ultimately destroy who they are. They make the person soft and weak, unable to continue doing missions. Just like you!"

Fear was evident in her face, her breathing had stopped and chest refused to move. Her eyes felt like they were swelling up as she could feel the tears drip away from the corners of her eyes. Having the leader angry with her, and telling her that she was basically useless, was all too much for her to handle.

"Crying? That's to be expected of a weak kunoichi." Letting go of her kimono at the point of throwing her across the room. The leader stood to his feet and walked past the crippled Eos to the door.

She was scared, more than that, she felt as if all life inside of her had been pulled away from her. Her hand raised to her chest and her soft palm felt the vibrations of her fast beating heart.

Now she had a decision to make . . .

She just hoped Deidara would come back soon.

* * *

Chirp!

Nami's eyes opened to the world that she was currently trying to slip from. Her lazy eyes went from the blue sky to the bird on the tree across the empty street. It's tan wings flapping every once in a while due to the slight breeze.

She sighed; she was always stuck on boring missions like this one. After all, watching for any suspicious characters was a norm. Almost everybody was strange in his or her own little way.

Setting one hand on the red fabric bench underneath her and the other on the wakizashi by her side, she began to ponder whether or not to find a better road. However, the road was popular for villains, each shop in this area sold various things from swords to saké. Maybe it would be wiser for her to stay in this area, after all, never know when some excitement will stir up.

"Hey, you! Look what you did to my new clothes!"

A smile swept over Nami's lips and her amber eyes patrolled to her right.

"Um, sorry about that." Said a man with black hair and a black and red coat. Another man stood beside him, except he didn't look like he was going to do anything about the situation.

"Sorry, my ass! You purposely did that!" The man, with a large brown stain dripping from his blue coat down to his khaki pants, grabbed a hold of the other's collar and threw his fist backward.

Such bad taste . . .

Standing up, Nami proceeded to the area where the three men stood.

When the man threw his fist foreword, Nami's heart skipped a beat and the excitement to stop the fight worked its way into her. As her speed quickened, something strange happened. The man's fist didn't hit the one in black.

Nami stopped.

The man with a straw hat on, who had been trying to get out of a little squabble, now had a firm grasp of the man's wrist. By the sound of it, he was squeezing the guy's wrist in order for it to break.

"Hey," he said calmly, "I suggest you let him go unless you want to make medical history, un."

With that said the man's wrist snapped and his scream echoed down the street. Many people ran outside to see what was happening.

Nami stood frozen to her spot, her eyes locked onto the one with the straw hat.

"Damn you!" Cursed the man holding his wrist and quickly went up to punch the one with the hat. He had dodged it easily enough, taking a simple step backward to exit the proximity of the blow. Unfortunately, he didn't calculate enough as the man's hand struck the light straw hat on his head, forcing it away from his head to the ground beneath.

Deidara's face was easily seen now, a blank expression on his face as he peered at the man.

"Well, Deidara-san, you failed on keeping your cover."

Deidara? . . .

Going in for another punch, the man swung in, "Stop moving!"

Deidara's hand went into a tight fist and he thrust it into the man's abdomen while his other blocked the blow painfully with his left hand. Buckling over from the pain and loss of air, the man slowly fell to the ground.

Putting his foot on the man's head, Deidara grinned, "You're lucky, little man, I'm not in the mood to kill you right now . . . un." Pushing harshly with his foot, the man went toppling backward in pain.

"Wow, Deidara-senpai, that was awesome!"

"Shut up, it wasn't as good as what Itachi could do, but I guess it couldn't be helped . . . un."

The masked man nodded, "Yeah, well, we made quite a scene."

"Wrong, _you_ made quite a scene moron."

"You both made quite a scene, just waltzing out here and harming that man!" Nami yelled angrily, stomping toward them both. An accusing finger pointed straight to Deidara, her amber eyes glaring at the man's same color of amber.

"Um . . . Sorry," Tobi stepped in front of Nami, for fear that a bad reaction of Deidara was soon to come to her, "we really didn't mean for this to happen. The man just blamed something on Deidara-senpai."

Deidara huffed, "idiot, what have I told you about talking so much?"

Tobi flinched and finally turned to Deidara, "Well, it's better than looking like a criminal, right?"

"How can you handle walking around with a guy like that?" Nami questioned, her eyes still lay on Deidara.

"No choice, I was pinned down and hand fed . . . There was no way out of it, un."

"Deidara-senpai!"

"By the way," Deidara stood straight up, his hand sat on his hip, "what's your name?"

The glare that she had originally been giving him turned scornful, and she slightly turned away from him.

"Kuchi Nami."

"Oh! Well, it was nice to meet you Nami-san! Please forgive us for leaving so soon!" Tobi nervously laughed as began to pull on Deidara's coat trying to drag him. His nervous antics were ignored however.

"Tobi," Deidara grinned, "Go on ahead of me, I'll catch you later."

He couldn't see it, but he knew Tobi was glaring at him. "Hey, you don't plan on taking advantage of her, do you?"

Deidara's grin only grew more, "I'll. See. You. Later. Kay?"

Slouching, Tobi shook his head and proceeded down the road. It wasn't long until he was finally out of hearing distance though.

Facing toward the bar from which he had just left, he crossed his arms, yet his grin stayed on his face. He hadn't even noticed the man, that they had beat, leave. Drops of blood, overlooked from their little fight, lay on the ground out of the eye's view.

"You've changed." She whispered.

"So have you, un." He shot back, some bitterness spread over his slightly annoyed. "But that is to be expected, since the last time I saw you was when you were what? Six?"

Nami didn't bother to look at him; "I was seven."

Deidara looked over at Nami, his grin softer now than last time. "It's been a really long time, un." He drawled, his voice showing less irritation.

Nami gave a silent laugh, "indeed it has, brother."

* * *

Rain Country

* * *

It was raining. Dark gray clouds, blurred from the illusion, drifted above them, leaking out droplets of what she felt was sadness. Maybe it was because she hadn't decided quite yet what she was going to do. Whether it was to stay or to leave, either way didn't have a good ending. Either, she was doomed to be hurt both physically and emotionally. Just as the leader had said, she was useless. She had no strengths, no great attributes that made her a good kunoichi. She had her flute, and her amateur ideals, and that was all. She was foolishly in love, in love with someone who would probably forget about her sooner or later.

Peering down at the silver flute in her hand, her thoughts went blank and for a mere second a feeling of hopelessness reached into her soul. Here she was, bound to a decision that would change what happened in the future. To stay meant she had the choice to continue falling in love and experience heartbreak. If Deidara were to die, then her only security would die as well; she would be killed by the leader and tossed away like trash. If she left, she would have to change her identity to stay alive. After staying with some criminals, there was no doubt someone knew about her and reported it. It wouldn't be easy for her to continue living on without who she really was though.

Looking up at the sky again, her green eyes stared at what it seemed to be nothing. There was an incredible feeling of loss that continually worked its way into her. It was numbing and even painful. She wouldn't cry, or rather, she couldn't cry. She had cried so much now that those tears were all gone.

A water droplet hit her face, rolled down her cheek, then her neck, and finally lost momentum. Closing her eyes and dropping her head, Eos smiled. Her green eyes opened again and new tears came back to haunt her. Turning her head upward, she smiled.

"Are you crying for me now?"

* * *

Rock Country

* * *

"Eighteen years old, huh? Wow, it's hard to even imagine you turning thirteen, un." Deidara laughed softly. Here he was, laughing with a family member, talking about what they used to do in the past.

"Well, to see you as a old man isn't what I was expecting." She giggled as Deidara through a playful glare toward her.

"It'll be your turn soon enough."

"Oh really?"

Then the silence took its part between them. Deidara leaned back on the bench while Nami leaned forward and her head stayed looking to the ground. They were so different now; their relationship was as if it never existed. Were they even brother and sister? It was hard to say that was true. Sure, when they were children, they were close, not even their mother could pry them apart. But now . . .

She looked to his feet and her eyelids drifted down.

Now, being apart for eleven years . . .

It felt so easy to walk away . . .

"It was hard." She mumbled, her blonde hair cascaded down her head, hiding her face. Deidara didn't look to her, instead, he kept his mind off the topic which she was straying to.

"It was hard when you left, being so young, I didn't understand why you did. Mother always said it was because you were strong. Father said it was because there were better things outside the village. I didn't understand either of them. Did you hear about mother? Of course you didn't, you were away."

Breaking into her strained babbling, Deidara asked, "What happened? She get sick again?"

Nami looked to her brother, who in return, watched her.

"So . . . you didn't hear?"

Deidara raised his eyebrow, "no?"

"She died. She did get sick, but she also was so angry with father she had to get away. One night, while everyone was asleep, she grabbed the closest thing to a weapon and killed herself. Life in the house hasn't been the same since."

Deidara laughed, his eyes closed and looked away from Nami.

Nami glared at him, "how can you laugh? She was the one who gave birth to us and practically raised us, remember?"

"This is where the line between shinobi and kunoichi gets crossed. I always figured mother would do something like that."

Nami's eyes shot open and her mouth hung open.

"Sorry to say this, but kunoichi aren't really known for being good at removing their emotions. Same with you, and also with mother."

He's so much like . . .

"Father."

Deidara's eyes snapped toward Nami, confused by what she had said.

"You remind me of him."

Deidara stared at her, his eyes locked on her head. He didn't take that as a compliment, how could he? He was being referred to a man who threw him out to the wolves. His father . . .

"Deidara-senpai!"

Diverting his gaze from Nami to the masked man running toward him, Deidara almost felt relieved to have him come. Odd, usually he wanted to stay away from him. Standing up from the red bench, he began to walk away.

"Deidara-senpai, the hotel won't-"

"You idiot, what did you do now, un?"

"Nothing!"

Nami's amber eyes watched as he walked away. The color red and black fading away into the streets.

He was wrong about her . . .

He was wrong.

Unable to grasp the idea that her own brother was acting like her father was beyond her. She hated it, hated the fact that Deidara had changed so much since she had last seen him. Why? Why did everything have to turn out like this?

* * *

Past

* * *

The dry air, the weariness in her legs, the constant pain in her chest, none of it mattered . . . except for beating up the little boy in front of her. Calling her a weak and pathetic little baby and created some malice in her and she thought that it would only be fair if she shared some of that anger.

"Take that back!" Her large yellow eyes narrowed angrily, her fists held at her sides.

The boy got up off the ground and wiped away the little trace of blood from the scratch on his face. He glared at her as he sat on the ground, his fists also tightened and ready to hit her.

He laughed mockingly, "See, you had to use your nails to fight me. Proves you're a little twit that won't stay out of people's business."

"Take. That. BACK!" Running toward him, she pulled back her arm, the lining in her kimono sleeve slightly ripping at the fast movement. Then, something unusual happened, her body took an odd movement backward onto the ground. Giving an yelp of pain as her back hit the ground, she looked up to see the cause of the strange movement.

"Hey, let go of my arm!" The boy yelled as he tried to jerk his arm out of a hand's grasp.

"Drop the kunai punk, before you get what you deserve, un." Spoke the sure voice of a twelve-year-old boy. Long blonde hair draped down his face, the tips barely touching the top of his shoulders. A long grin held firm in place as his eyes mischievously stared at the other. Wearing a green gi and regular black pants, with a Village of Stone headband wrapped around his head, he was what most of the ninja's looked like in their village.

The boy glared harder though, and refused to let go of the kunai.

"Brother, this boy is making fun of me!"

The boy laughed again, "Geez, you're such a wimp, hiding behind this guy here."

"So? What about it?" The other replied as his grip on the boy's wrist loosened slightly.

"So what if she hides behind her big brother, big deal. She's not a ninja like me, and not an academy student like you, un. She's just a little girl trying to stick it out in the world, un."

The boy huffed and walked away while the tallest squatted enough to see his sister's wounds. Frowning, he wiped away the dirt on her face and looked at her dusty pink kimono.

"Man . . . Mom's not going to like the little story I'm going to have to tell her ya'know."

Bowing her head, she grabbed a hold of her kimono and lightly tugged it, "I'm sorry, Deidara."

He smiled, patting her head as reassured as possible, "There are times when I wonder if it should be you to be the ninja." Her round face looked up to him; small tears began to form around the outside of her golden eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, I'm the one who has to protect you after all. Being a soon-to-be-lady of our house, I have no choice but to protect you."

Standing up and putting his hand on her back, he smiled and began walking with her beside him. Siblings as they were, her older brother always treated her like a really good friend. Still, there were times when . . .

"Deidara . . ." she mumbled.

"Hm?"

"If you had the choice to not protect me, would you choose it?"

When the sound of someone walking beside her stopped, she too, stopped. Looking over her shoulder to her brother had stopped. His face was not even looking toward her, instead he was looking the opposite direction, to the Kage's office high above.

She bit her lip as the wind began to softly blow by, moving blonde strands into her face and her brother's peacefully moved in the air.

"There will never be a choice like that, so I won't answer." His face turned toward her, a grin on his face and his eyes closed. It was the expression that he used with everybody else, except for his family. Nami felt a twinge of doubt rise up in her. She loved her brother; she just hope there would never come a day when he would desert her. Being with her brother meant being with the person that she looked up to as her role model, he was the only one who considered her as a person and not as a lady.

"We should be getting home, if we stay out too late we'll get a chewing for sure, un."

Nami nodded happily, "Yeah! Especially if we don't eat dinner!"

Deidara smiled as he walked toward her, "What are you talking about? I've already did and done that, it's you I'm more worried about. Tearing up your kimono like that and all, un."

"What!"

* * *

"Mother! I'm home!" Called Nami as her voice echoed through the empty halls. The joyfulness in her suddenly stopped and she looked back to her brother who was still approaching.

"Brother . . . " She said worriedly, "where'd everyone go?"

Deidara raised his head to see the lights turned off and the house quiet. He stopped next to Nami by the doorway. Both of them stood there, Deidara observed using whatever sense he could manage.

"Nami . . . Stay outside."

The girl's face rose quickly to see the twelve-year-olds serious expression. She nodded and Deidara walked inside stealthily. Nami was amazed, it was the first time she had seen him walk like that, without any noise and he slowly disappeared into the dark.

Nami waited for what it seemed to be thirty minutes but really only a few minutes passed by. All the while, her heart continued to thump in her small chest. What was going on? She didn't know, all she knew was it was eerily quiet for their house.

"Nami!" yelled the familiar voice of Deidara. "Come on in! There's nobody here!"

She didn't feel safe to walk inside; she didn't feel safe at all when her brother was away. Taking a step inside, she suddenly felt someone grab her shoulder.

Needless to say, she screamed and even cried.

"Stop that! Nami, control yourself!"

Opening her golden eyes, she could see her father holding her and her mother hovering over her, but she also saw someone else. A tall dark man with rising brown hair and narrow eyes.

Soft footsteps emerged from the inside, each step growing louder as the boy approached. He was no longer holding that same expression, but had the expression that he knew what was coming, and in truth, he did.

"Deidara, you should know better. Leaving your sister outside alone." His father angrily spoke, his own amber eyes glared at the boy who proceeded toward them.

"Sorry, father." Whispered Deidara as he tried to hold back the scowling glare that threatened to show. Looking to the ground, his amber eyes refused to rise to his father's. It wasn't because he was scared, actually it was because he didn't want to throw all his anger at his father.

Nami stared at her brother while in their father's arms, her hands clenching onto the man's dark blue gi. She could see that Deidara was holding back. Her eyes drifted to the stranger who stood next to them. Probably the reason why he didn't yell back was because of the man whom she didn't know. Was he here for a reason? Was he here to make a deal with father – father was always accustomed to making bargains to save his family.

"Nami, what have you done to your new kimono?"

Forgetting about the tear in her new pink kimono, Nami immediately looked from her mother to her father, then to her brother for help. However, Deidara was not in the mood to help her out now. No lies would be told.

"Nami, what happened?" quietly asked her mother, prying deeper into the secret that the two children kept.

"Um . . . I . . ."

Looking up to her father she bit her lip, his eyes serious and unmoving.

"I . . ." Hiding her eyes in her hair, she finished, "got into a fight."

A chuckle from the side of them occurred and everyone looked to the man in question. A small smile on his narrow face and his arms crossed over his chest.

"Excuse me, but may I talk to you son for a bit?" his eyes remained closed but all his attention seemed to be locked onto Deidara. Deidara had raised his head in that moment, curious of what the man wanted to speak to him about.

"Of course."

What ever was happening, she knew and also felt, that it wouldn't be good. What did the man want with her brother? True, he is the heir to their family, but what would anyone want to talk to Deidara about?

Something was definitely wrong, and she knew it.

TBC . . .

* * *

Next Chapter

* * *

What is it that Nami feels will happen? Who is this mysterious man from her family's past? When sadness is released from one's eyes, can the other help but walk away? In the Part two of Aurora Borealis . . .

* * *

AN: Well, not so bad, right? Yeah, and Deidara's personality from a child is dramatically different, I know, but what am I supposed to do? I don't know his past! Next chapter will be in Deidara's perspective, instead of Nami's. A lot is going to happen next chapter, so get ready for it!

To all my reviewers . . . I LOVE YOU!

Fanfic by ione


	8. Chapter 7 Part Two

AN: I really don't want to deal with the past in this chapter, but it has to be done… Sigh… HUH! SAI!!! LOL!

* * *

Aurora Borealis

Chapter Seven

PART TWO

Stuck In The Rain

* * *

The morning had been a very cold one; the ground still drenched in the previous showers from above. All night long a storm had raged above them, lightning strikes assaulted the mountains that surrounded them. It was a feat that did not remove the attention of a certain pair of amber eyes. Tired, yet entranced, by the loud thunder and tinkling droplets of rain as they landed on the metal roofs. All of this, and so much more, always had Deidara in a trance. He loved the colors, the sounds, and the feelings that spurred up in him of the mere artistic thought that he concentrated on. Indeed, all of this, and yet, nothing could remove the minute feeling of unhappiness that lingered in him. No one saw it, and no one cared. Why would they? He is but a ninja and so are the many around him, feelings are not needed.

Still, the rain had blanketed the brown hard soil, making it shine in the first rays of sunlight.

Never had it rained before in Hidden Stone Village.

Resting his small chin on the windowsill, he continued to stare out at the village slowly awakening. The smells of new air nearly helping him rest his tired eyes, but the sudden sounds behind him stopped his constant need of rest. Quickly, and instinctively, the young boy turned around, his hair falling into place by the sides of his face. A single strand of hair annoyed his left eye but still he ignored it. He could only glare at the intruder, since the intruder was the man who had been staying with them for two weeks.

"Funny, I never thought that this place received rain." The man's deep voice echoed throughout Deidara's head, a familiar tone that he had become accustomed to.

This was the man who, for the past week, had been training him. Creating him to become a razor sharp edge on a sword and if luck allowed, the boy's skills would become better. This was a man whose strength was constantly hidden and whose true personality was masterfully covered with a thick mask. It was almost like he had two identities and certainly the other one was not the one Deidara ever wanted to see again. The other side was full of bloodlust and rage, something that never before Deidara had faced. However, it didn't scare him that much, just surprised him-or so he thought.

"It doesn't, un." The boy replied, his glare still as strong as when he first met him.

"I see." The man said as he pushed himself off the doorway he currently occupied and headed down the hallway toward the front room. His spiked brown hair covered his eyes eerily.

The next few minutes were like a nightmare. An arm suddenly being jerked above his head and a surprised breath escaped his lips, his amber eyes shot up to another set of amber eyes, but narrower and older.

"Father?"

His father's long blonde hair cascaded toward Deidara, creating drapes around the elder's face. Deidara held his breath, what could he expect from his father who had always threatened him but never laid a finger on him.

"Are you going to listen, or are you going to argue?"

"Listen." Deidara said, knowing that his father would let go of his arm as soon as he did. His father did, and Deidara took an immediate step away from the taller man, holding the wrist that had been grabbed.

"That man outside, do you know why he's here?" Deidara shook his head, unable to grasp what his father was talking about.

"He's here for a special reason, and is not going to leave unless he gets what he wants."

Deidara could understand that, the thirst for blood was already made apparent to him. He could make sense of why that man was so determined…

"Rei-san will be taking you from this day forward."

What? He was going to be leaving with that man, for good? The mere shock stunned Deidara, and was detectable on his face. After a few moments of utter silence, the boy's stomach turned and his feet minutely moved away from his father. No, he wouldn't go with a man who has that strong of a thirst to kill. He couldn't . . .

When his body made that sudden jolt of wanting to run, his wrist was once again snatched and thrust above his head. But Deidara wouldn't allow his father, who had always been behind him, to do this to him. His free hand grasped onto his father's and tried boldly to remove it from his own. It was inevitable, his mind knew that and so did his heart, but something else in Deidara was afraid – innately afraid of what was to come.

"Let me go!" Deidara yelled, his childish voice pleading his father to release the grip he had made so tightly. He wriggled in the old man's grip with one hand, yet it appeared that even his father made no movement to the boy's antics. When he began to walk away from Deidara, the child knew that he was going to be dragged no matter what was said. It was the fact that he was helpless against his father that slowly demolished Deidara's wanton pleas to stay – to run away.

Here was his father, a man that at many times helped Deidara out. He was always the one pushing him to become a great Shinobi and now, now the man that he had always seen as a great father was trying to push him out the door.

Deidara could clearly see the man outside, a backpack already at his side as he sat down on a rock. His brown hair still covering his face like it did before when he had seen him. Being forced down the hallway by his father was utterly embarrassing.

"Father! Look!"

Deidara's heart stopped at the girly voice that seemed to echo in his head, over and over until it died in the back of his memory. Trying to pull away his hand, Deidara's father angrily yanked Deidara to his side. It was then that Deidara could see his sister's and his mother's faces as he was dragged outside.

"Brother?" spoke the young Nami, also unable to understand what was actually going on, but Deidara knew and now he wished he had said argue. He couldn't get his father to release his wrist and now he was doomed for the wrist. With the first step onto the wet ground, Deidara once again pulled but was forcibly moved the opposite direction.

"Father wait! Where are you taking brother?" yelled Nami behind them, the sound in her voice telling him that she was on the verge of tears.

"Nami, please sit down." Begged his mother, who obviously was trying to compel the little girl. He would've told her to stop, but the expression on his face would've made her want to come after him.

Amber eyes peered up at the swaying blonde hair, "Father, why?"

When his father stopped, so did he, and his father didn't dare look toward him.

"This man, he won't leave our village until he recruits someone from here. If someone didn't go with him, he told us that he would kill as many women and children as he could. Deidara, right now, you are the sacrifice I have to make in order to let everyone else live, understand."

No, he didn't understand. Why did it have to be him? He knew his father was lying to him, he knew that his father had a different idea than that and so, with his final bit of strength, Deidara pulled back his arm and managed to get him to let go. He wasn't happy, of course, to find out that his son had escaped him, but the boy would not allow him to get a hold of him again.

Suddenly, the ground moved upward on his part and Deidara flew backward. Mud caked his clothes and shoes but the stinging feeling that a hand had once again grasped onto him made him throw his other hand to the man's face.

A loud smack could be heard, Deidara had connected, but not with a man's face, instead with a man's hand. He hadn't hit his father's hand either, there was the man who was going to take him, sitting above him with a blank expression on his face.

"Deidara," the man's narrow eyes glared at him as his deep voice continued, "come with me and I'll tell you what is going on, is that clear?"

Clenching his teeth together, Deidara wriggled in the man's grasp but he made no movement even with the child's foolish pulls and pushes. He was nothing but a brick wall, a wall that Deidara couldn't beat with any jutsu or with any clay bird.

Both the man's hands went separate ways, causing Deidara's arms to create a x.

"I said, is that clear?"

The pain was real now, and Deidara's arms felt like they were going to be ripped off.

"Yes sir!" He yelped, closing his eyes in utter torture.

* * *

"It's going to rain today, isn't it?" Said the masked man, his head tilted back to peer up at the clouds. His long black coat drifted carefully along his ankles, causing waves in the fabric.

"Idiot, the clouds are a dark gray, of course it's going to rain, un." Spoke Deidara as his finger played with the button on his one eye binocular. His other closed shut in order to concentrate on the grounds of the feudal lord's mansion.

"Any movement?" whispered Tobi, trying to be as secretive as the blonde, however, made more noise walking over the roof's shingles.

"None." Removing his hand calmly, he kept his eye closed as he tried to relax his other. Tobi sat down by Deidara, both arms comfortably on the tops of his knees.

"I don't get it, usually the land is sprawling with bodyguards and yet there seems to be none, un."

"Maybe he has some professionals?"

The corner of Deidara's lips lifted into a sly grin, "What a day to have an idiotic person try to assassinate a professional assassin, un."

Tobi lowered his head, obviously to the fact that he had heard him and his little statement.

"Deidara-senpai, don't call me idiotic."

For once in a couple of days, Deidara let out a bellowed laugh, almost sinister in a way. His head tilted backward and his straightened.

"Idiot! You're not the idiotic person, you're the professional, un!"

Tobi was dumbfounded, he had never seen Deidara laugh so loudly before. He guessed it was because of the absurdity of what he had just recently said.

Deidara, after all, could say some strange things…

The atmosphere around him instantly changed suddenly, and Tobi immediately looked toward Deidara. It was the blonde who had changed the comfortable situation to an intense sense of anger.

"Nami."

The masked man looked down to the ground to see the young woman from the other day walk toward the mansion. All weapons on her in place, a wakizashi, spiked gloves and other ninja tools.

Nami was the bodyguard . . .

Cautiously, Tobi looked back up to Deidara, "um, who exactly _is_ that girl, Deidara-senpai?"

A long pause occurred between them; so long that it made the air tense. Tobi waited patiently for the answer for obviously Deidara was not so happy in the matter that that woman was the bodyguard.

"She used to be my sister . . . un."

"Used to be?" Queried the younger, a hint of curiosity in his voice. How could she not be his sister any longer? If they were related by blood, in a single family, how is it that she is no longer his sister?

Deidara didn't answer his next question, instead, he reached into his yellow pouch on his side and pulled out a clump of clay. Tightly squeezing the soft explosive material in the palm of his hand where the mouth lay and slowly it created a bird.

With haste, Deidara launched the bird into the air, "it's not raining yet, I can get away with it, un."

"I take it we're on the move now?"

Deidara peered down at Tobi, a dark grin on his lips, "Not yet, we have to let them scurry first, un."

Lifting his hand and forming the tiger seal with his index and middle fingers, he waited for the precise moment.

The grin grew, "Release!"

Suddenly a gigantic explosion occurred behind the mansion, blowing all the backyard's materials into the air. Leaves, dirt, and some rocks flew away from their previous spots to the fence and the mansion itself. A cloud of dust started to settle away around the grounds, leaving a small mist above the people. It was the perfect time…

"Let's go!" demanded Deidara as he leaped off the roof of the building and begun to run to the mansion. Tobi followed in hot pursuit, understanding what Deidara had truly wanted to do. Finally reaching to the cloud of dust, they both launched themselves above, so as to not be seen, and landed on the mansion first floor and proceeded to climb from there. Jumping to the top roof, Deidara briskly ran for the center of the roof to further his stealth. Tobi did the same and kneeled beside Deidara, silently huffing to himself.

"Well, Deidara-senpai, that was exciting!"

"Shut up, you idiot, we've only made it to the mansion. Now we have to wait for night before we make our move again, un."

After taking a deep sigh, Deidara fell back onto the rooftop and proceeded to make himself comfortable. It would be a long time till night finally fell on the world, so taking a short nap wouldn't matter much.

Hearing some clicking noises, Deidara quickly opened his eyes to see Tobi take a small glance at the destruction.

"Just don't let them see you . . . un."

An old and familiar feeling of rest washed over Deidara, and the sound of rain hitting the roof only furthered his sleep. He wasn't interested in what Tobi did, for what Tobi usually did was get him in trouble. However, he had done pretty well on the mission so far, maybe he'll become a good member?

Yeah, someday…

* * *

"What the hell was that?" Pushing herself off from the floor, Nami's golden eyes stared out to the moving hallway. Pieces of wood lay scattered on the floor and dust still clouded the air.

Suddenly, a sharp pain struck her head and cautiously her hand rose to the point of pain. She could feel a wet substance, barely there, and also feel the small injury which caused her pain. Motivating herself to stand up, Nami wobbled to the wall to keep her body from collapsing.

She could remember the sudden blast of an explosion, she could also remember the piercing sound that came with it. Knowing that her ears were bleeding she performed a medical jutsu to heal her wounds. Having her client know that she was injured already was not a smart thing to do. The client would ultimately lose confidence in her but in return, the pig would die.

Her father had told her once that if she wanted to stay a ninja, she had to follow some strict rules. Number one, ninja's are nothing but tools; and number two, to never stray from a mission.

She was stuck and had no where to go.

Painfully squinting her eyes, she began to focus on the chaos in front of her. People darted from everywhere, some injured and some helping the injured.

So many innocent people . . .

Lowering her warm hand from her final wound on her head, she grabbed onto the wakizashi on her back and held it firmly. Because of the chaos in the building, it would be easy to get through any defense by just simply blending in with the crowd and annihilating the lord.

Finally able to stand straight, Nami took her first bold step into the crowd and began to search for any enemies.

* * *

"It's cold, un." Spoke the very languor Deidara as he forced himself up into a sitting position. Sleepily blinking, he peered back to the place where Tobi was when he fell asleep only to find no one. Sighing, he turned his gaze up to the dark sky where not a single star sparkled above them, signaling to him that there was cloud coverage. It was perfect dark night to see the magical workings of art.

"Deidara-senpai, is it time yet?"

Surprised by the sudden voice, Deidara shot back a glare to the man who sat beside a roof decoration. His right arm resting on his right leg, his head slightly tilted sideways resting on the wooden decoration.

Smiling, Deidara replied, "Yeah, let's get started, un. First, come over here so I can tell you the plan."

With that said, the man who blended in with the night leapt toward Deidara and carefully landed by the blonde.

When did Tobi become skilled?

Inwardly smiling at Tobi's skills, Deidara continued, "Here's the plan . . . After I use one of my clay birds and destroy part of the building, you and I are going to break in through the second floor."

"Why the second floor? Isn't the feudal lord usually on the top floor?" queried Tobi, his hand began to scratch his head in a way to understand.

"True, the feudal lord is located on the top floor, however, he'll be on his way out of the building. Thus, he'll be making his way down just like everybody else."

"And that's when we strike! So," Tobi's voice went lower, "do we wait for him on the second floor?"

"No, moron, we work our way up to greet him with cold blades, un. Once we've managed to kill him, we jump out of that floor's window and run to the area where the explosion occurred, making our getaway through the back gate."

"What about the bodyguard?" asked Tobi in a low tone; "Won't she be escorting the lord down the floors?"

Deidara paused for a second, he had included Nami into his plan but what Tobi brought up was a relatively good point. Any normal bodyguard would be beside the client, protecting him from harm.

However, Nami was no ordinary bodyguard, she was definitely a force to be reckoned with.

"You don't worry about her, you just kill the pig as quickly as possible, un. You managed to enter into the Akatsuki, so you have some skill, now is your time to prove it."

"And the bodyguard-"

"I'll take care of her . . .un." Deidara spoke low this time, and without even thinking about it, his eyes drifted down to the streets barely littered with people.

He had a problem with Nami; something inside him just didn't like the feel of her any longer. She was something that had unexpected twists and turns, and she was not at all like any kunoichi he had ran across.

Nami was going to be a problem . . .

* * *

"Nami-san, do you truly think these so called assassins are smart? Wouldn't they have attacked by now?" The feudal lord snorted loudly, his big meaty hand picking up the glass of wine and carefully swirled it about.

How disgusting . . .

She was also wondering the same thing, since ninja's usually attacked at night to hide themselves easily. However, most assassins she's had to deal with have been hasty and too rash, leading themselves into a corner where her shadow blackened them. These assassins were different in so many ways . . .

They let themselves be known, then they disappear for the day to keep themselves hidden. Nightfall comes and still there is no commotion.

Maybe the assassins were not the ones who attacked but instead a civilian used a small bomb to threaten them . . .

Maybe the assassins want her to believe that so that she could take a calm breath of air.

No . . .

Angrily, Nami glared out the window.

What kind of ninja's were these two? Obviously they weren't the same kind of men who she was accustomed to fighting with. They were intelligent, patient, and above all else understanding of the situation.

Who were they?

Think of odd men that you have been seeing these couple of days . . .

Odd, odd, odd . . . Her mind began filtering all the faces that she had kept in her repertoire, most of them wearing strange clothing or having strange tattoos. Holding her hand over her mouth and chin, she closed her eyes and thought up each one that she could remember.

Then the thought occurred in her brain and she damned herself. Odd clothing, different to this country, a villain all in the same . . .

It had to be . . .

Unexpectedly, a huge jolt of the building swayed Nami and the feudal lord onto the floor. The building moved violently followed by a thunderous sound that made her feel like it was about to burst. Attempting to throw herself off the shaking floor, Nami spat out the assassin's name.

"Deidara!" Running for the door, she turned toward the man covered in food and wine.

"Sir, if you would be so kind as to stay here and out of my way!" With that said, she burst out of the doorway and sprinted down the hallway. Her narrow eyes focused on the area ahead of her.

If it was her brother that she was dealing with, then all hell would soon break out. There was no way that she was going to let that person disrupt her mission.

A sudden vision of the last time they had met flashed through her mind's eyes, forcing her to angrily push on. All this time she had known who the true criminal was but never even bothered putting the puzzle pieces together.

Jumping down the second flight of stairs, it was there where she had met an exploding note face to face and quickly pushed herself away from the wall. Somewhat exceeding to dodge it, Nami stumbled away from the staircase.

"Well, this is an unexpected change in events, un. Tobi, jump pass her and proceed on."

Nami's eyes grew as she began to understand the situation she had placed herself in. When a black flash jumped above her and up the hallway, she cursed herself and started moving for the damaged and crumbling stairs.

Another explosion occurred then, and she watched at the small clay spider erupt into a large cloud. Nami was immediately pushed backward, her body limp with the sudden pain to her torso.

"I'm not about to let my opponent run away, un. Stand up . . . Little brat."

With two fingers raised to his face in the form of a seal, he prepared the next explosion with the mouth in his hand.

Painfully, Nami rolled onto her bleeding stomach to look up at her brother. Biting her lip, she started another area of pain to try to trick her mind of the wound on her stomach. Pushing her body off of the cement floor, Nami's eyes remained on her brother's and a devious smile cast over her lips.

"You lose . . . un." Raising his hand higher to his face, Deidara's amber eyes peered down at her.

Another explosion took place from beside her, and she had the feeling it was the one meant to kill her. Except she took advantage of the explosion and launched herself toward Deidara, closing the distance between the two.

Throwing his hand to his side, Deidara removed a kunai from his holster and raised it in front of him. Taking a stance with his right foot slightly behind him and his body barely bent forward for thrusting power. Heaving the kunai toward Nami, Deidara's right foot took in another stance to his side for balance.

Nami barely dodged the kunai as it nicked the skin on her left shoulder. Her right hand thrust forward in an attempt to punch Deidara with everything she had. As her hand neared Deidara, a hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward him, his fist hit her fiercely in her wound on her stomach.

A yelp of pain slipped through her teethe while her leg moved upward to kick him away from her. It was almost as if he read her movement and understood what she was going to do because he immediately jumped away from her. Holding her stomach in pain; Nami again bit her lip, a drip of blood trailed down her chin.

This wasn't good, when it came to taijutsu and a wound to the torso, her body seemed susceptible to attack. The only option was to use genjutsu and push him away from the building. However, this was Deidara, a prodigy of Hidden Stone Village and known criminal.

Forming a seal quickly with her hands and then punching the wall caused the cement to turn into jagged spikes.

Before the spikes managed to get to Deidara, she watched as his grin opened into a smile and then the sharp spikes engulfed the area. Watching as her brother allowed such a painful death to befall him and then become stabbed by the cement stakes gave Nami a twisted feeling in her stomach.

Her stomach lurched when she watched as the body turn into clay and literally all she could hear was the quick beating of her heart. Jumping back, the clay exploded leaving a huge cloud of dirt and a giant hole in the wall. Another wound assaulted her side as she tried but failed to outrun the explosion. Falling near the staircase, Nami coughed up blood and felt her body go limp.

A chuckle came from above the staircase, "That should keep you tied down for the meantime, un."

Her eyes peered up at the man smiling down at her, not a single scratch on him. It was then that Nami remembered how truly smart this guy was; not a single ninja was able to defeat him and his exploding art.

_Damn . . ._ she cursed inwardly, _damn him to hell!_

Disappearing down the hallway, Deidara made his ascent up the next two floors to the feudal lord. Leaving behind an immobile Nami, who was starting to become the angriest person in the world.

* * *

Blood splattered the walls and a very pleased Tobi stood in the middle of it all. It didn't take much to slice the fat man's neck and it certainly didn't take much of a deep slash to make it look like a blood bath. Odd, there was a lot of blood from just one cut.

When footsteps were heard, Tobi had already known who was approaching him so carelessly. Turning his head, the masked man greeted the untouched Deidara.

Deidara looked almost surprised at the sight and half confused, "Wow, he must've been holding up all those unneeded bags of blood inside himself, un."

The small joke lightened the room a little; Tobi made his way to the window and waited for Deidara to follow him. Despite their plan, Deidara stood oddly in place staring at the blood-covered man.

"Deidara-senpai?"

"You didn't finish it, un."

"Eh?"

Tobi's head instantly turned toward the fat man on the floor covered in delicate fabrics of many designs. Then watched as Deidara casually threw a kunai into the man's head.

Smiling, Deidara looked to Tobi, "You're still an idiot . . . un."

Then, as the blonde began to take his leave, something whizzed beside his cheek, nailing into the wall. A kunai, with its handle covered in blood, stayed in the wall in front of him.

"I won't let you get away!" Yelled the woman from behind them, her irregular steps continued toward him.

Something livid began to work its way into Deidara's throat, something almost like fire and caused his breath to hold. He could feel the blood ooze from his cut, slowly falling down his curved cheek and finally dripping from his chin.

"Stay away." He warned, his voice taking on an icy like feature, which Tobi understood completely.

Nami's footsteps quickened as she raced toward him, this time aware of her surroundings. She threw her hand behind her, but not as to punch but to, more or less, continue with her genjutsu. Suddenly a giant wave of cement grew and proceeded to attack Deidara, but he quickly jumped away from it, moving himself further away from Tobi.

Deidara grinned, "Fu . . . What's this all of a sudden? When did we learn the First's technique?"

Nami didn't face him, her face stayed hidden behind her blonde hair.

"Tell me, is Eos there at the Akatsuki base?"

This statement jarred both Tobi and Deidara, their eyes widened and locked onto Nami's hidden face.

Deidara narrowed his eyes after the silence, "If there was a woman there at the base, do you think I'd tell you . . . un?"

His question caused both Nami's hands to shut into tight fists.

"Do you know who she is, Deidara? Do you know that she's a banned child of the Kuchi family? That girl is more of a traitor than you!"

Deidara could hear the anger rise up into her voice, and he straightened his body because of it.

"Tell me, why allow someone like Eos to live?"

Deidara grinned even more, "why do you care?"

Nami's angry eyes shot to Deidara, and if looks could kill, Deidara would be dead even before she looked upon him.

"She was the one who told our mother to kill herself!"

Deidara's grin slowly faded away. Who would've ever expected that Eos, a good little girl who mainly smiled, would do such a thing? His serious face didn't leave Nami's angry eyes, and he definitely didn't move.

However, his lips betrayed him as a soft laugh escaped from them, "That makes her even more like a criminal then before, un!"

"Why you!" screamed Nami as a circle of cement quickly formed around him and began to collapse.

_How like Nami to be unpredictable . . . _He mused darkly and the cement started to close in on him.

Tobi quickly jumped from the window toward the member of Akatsuki, his voice took on a fearful tone, "Deidara-senpai!"

* * *

In Rain Country

* * *

"Ow!"

A loud splash of water fell onto the floor and Eos tried to put out the burning flame in her hand. She swore up and down that anything she cooked was absolutely against her. Holding her hand in between one hand and her stomach, she proceeded to apply pressure.

When the pain had finally subsided, Eos opened her eyes to see what damage had been done. Nothing bad, it was just a minor burn.

It had been six days now, tomorrow she had to face the leader and tell him her decision. Just the thought of being in that man's presence terrified her, she couldn't help her body from trembling at the previous memory. Even now, she left the food outside his door and knocked only to tell him it was there.

If she wasn't in the kitchen brewing away some rice, she was in her room writing down her thoughts on some paper she had found the other day. It was like a diary to her as she had kept it hidden in the blankets of her bed.

Picking up the steaming pot, Eos hummed to herself. Then began to silently sing the song she had learned in Stone Village. Softly and surely, she began:

"The flowers are awakened by Thy dew/ and turn toward the light, for You renew/ their life; so also may Thy dew revive/ my soul today with thanks to be alive. / You care for all that's fresh and young,/ so care for me, to whom Thy dew has clung. / For You remind us that the darkest night/ must yield to day and flee before the light."

* * *

I pray Thee, shining Dawn, to bring to me

"Damn, that hurt . . . un!" spoke Deidara as he began to look over all his wounds on his arms and face.

Tobi looked toward Deidara who before had no injuries but was now covered in scrapes and blood from the battle.

_Abundant wisdom, love and energy. _

"Deidara-senpai, you scared me back there. I thought you were really going to be killed," said Tobi with a small tone of anger.

_I ask Thee, gracious Goddess, for a wealth_

"You really think that I can die so easily Tobi?" Deidara's nonchalant face turned toward the masked man, his eyes narrowed slightly.

_Of hope, of time to do, of strength and health._

There was a pause between them as Tobi didn't answer. Deidara's face looked forward down the road to where their final destination was, the Akatsuki base. When Deidara thought of the base, something happily ran through his skin. He would be seeing Eos again, and would love to see her expression of their mission. He knew she'd enjoy it.

_Especially, this day I ask of Thee:_

A smile danced across his lips. Of all the great creations he's made, Eos would have to be the most interesting and beautiful of them all. What a rare piece of art that girl really was.

* * *

"Bring Sensei back to me, so may it be."

The last part put a light blush on her face, and her hands could feel the warmth her cheeks were making. How foolish for her to fall for a murderer, a man who could kill an entire village and not feel a thing. When she first met him, she believed she would die. Of course, being on the muddy ground with two kunais in her did help the situation. She could still remember that stormy night when the person she was trying to get away from died by explosion. His blood splattered all over her body and her screams and tears were silent as she jumped out of the window and ran into the forest.

She was grateful to Deidara for killing that man, and she was grateful to Sasori for having her fall in the bushes only to be found by the artist.

In the end, Eos's tears and screams never came. They were not locked away in her heart like most people do; they just disappeared altogether.

The day that man died was the day she could escape from the boundaries of her family and punishment. She could escape from the one man who at one time gave her all the love in his heart to protect her. Then, he turned fowl and began to hurt her . . .

She was glad that Deidara had killed her father . . .

* * *

"Deidara-senpai, I'm going on ahead to the base, maybe you should to." Said Tobi as he picked up the briefcase with money inside. The guy had been unusually silent for the past day of traveling. They were both tired, and even Deidara couldn't hide the effects of running such a distance.

_Damn Nami!_ He inwardly cursed, _I didn't expect her to try and kill me, un!_

Standing up, Deidara put his wet sleeve to his cheek to ease the pain from the swollen cut. He wasn't proud that he had received an injury, he knew that leader would probably look down at his carelessness. First his arm, then several cuts on his body. Would he ever be able to manage without Rei-sama's medical jutsus?

When he turned to leave, he noticed that his little sidekick had already left with money in hand. He was left beside the river and on the cold rocks, and by the trees which provided some shelter from the darkening sky.

Just once, he would like to climb onto a bird and fly away. He would like to feel the vigor of living again, and have the wind blow through his hair and against his body. However, everytime he looked up to the sky, it was always dark and threatening.

Jumping through the trees was no longer easy on his legs; he was extremely exhausted from the traveling. He could feel that his legs were starting to give out as he landed on tree limbs.

"It's been a whole week . . . un." Whispered the artist as his eyes began to lose focus, "I wonder how she's doing . . ."

Leaping silently to the ground, Deidara landed near the base's secret door. Pulling it up, he slid under the camouflaged wood and into the dark tunnel. He was hoping that when he got into the tunnel, he'd hear Eos's flute once more but all he heard was dead silence. As each step took him closer to the base, something inside of Deidara began to grow more and more curious.

It didn't feel right in the small little area any longer. There was such a tense atmosphere that Deidara couldn't help but look suspiciously around. What was going on, where was the usual calm and comfortable atmosphere that always made him go stir crazy in the past?

Taking his first step out of the cave, Deidara stopped in mid-step as he saw Eos standing near the kitchen door. Smiling, he continued his way toward her until her familiar emerald eyes once again peered into his amber. However, the reaction he received wasn't what he expected, or wanted. Her eyes grew wide and her body turned toward him, her arms still clung to her chest as she began to search his face.

There he stood, dried blood soaked into his small white lines in his black and red coat. Old blood and wounds made themselves known. A slice to his face, a careless wound, swollen and red. Eos's hands dropped to her sides and her body locked in place. All the words that had been told to her while he was gone were starting to sink into her heart. Tears rolled down her cheeks and for what reason she couldn't understand. She felt the need to cry, she felt the need to run, and for most of all the need to help him.

Deidara stared at her, his amber eye slightly narrowed by the sight of her tears. What was she unhappy about, he had come out of battles in worse conditions. Wanting to say something, Deidara whispered under his breath a question that was silent to the world.

"What happened?" his voice was deep, but not deep with concern, it was telling her that something inside him just grew angry.

Eos's hands shot to her eyes in a failed attempt to hide her tears. After what leader had told her a week ago, she couldn't stand the thought of being weak in front of Deidara.

Closing the distance between them, Deidara looked down at the shriveling girl.

"Eos, what happened?" Moving his finger underneath her chin, he gently pushed her to look at him. He could see the tears softly run down her red cheeks, which told him she had been crying a lot.

"Tell me, would you like it if . . . if I were to stay?" Her voice was shaking; she no longer had the headstrong attitude that he had found her with. She had melted away from what he left her with.

"Tell me, Sensei, would you like it if I stayed?" She yelled up at him through her tears, her hands grabbed tightly onto the coat that clung to him. She was trembling now, and she forced herself to look away from him.

Deidara smiled softly as the anger inside him began to flicker away. Now he understood what her tormenting was all about. She was given the choice to leave or to stay. That was leader, always lurking behind Deidara's back and making decisions. Still, he wouldn't walk away from a good fight, even though he was already a little battle worn.

Lifting her head gently to him again, her emerald eyes still refused to look at him. Bending over slightly, Deidara's lips barely hovered over hers.

"Eos, I would love to have you stay . . . un."

Her eyes shot to his not a moment before Deidara's lips found hers. His hand still remained under her chin, as his other pulled her closer. All the while, Eos was completely taken over by him and her only reply was to return the kiss with all her might. Her eyes closed and her hands moved to his chest, her hands found it more comfortable to lay there. They kissed until neither one of them had any breath left in them. Slowly pulling himself away, Deidara lay his forehead on her head and smiled.

"Now tell me . . . what happened while I was away?"

Swallowing hard, Eos began her long story. She told of her conversation with Rei and what he had said about her. She told Deidara everything, but it was as if the man holding her wasn't listening. His eye was closed as he leaned on her, but his smile was still there. Both his hands rested on her slender hips, not moving any higher or lower. When she was done, she moved her head to look to the man who embraced her.

Deidara returned her gaze with his own, his grin still holding its rightful place on his lips.

"I guess I'll have to deal with him later, un." He whispered huskily as he bent down for another kiss from the creation he most loved.

* * *

Past

* * *

_Standing up, the man with red hair kept his eyes on the child in front of him. The rain once again began to pour and drenched their clothes and bodies. The soft rapping against the rain made the silence between the two minutely bearable._

_"You understand what I've told you, so take your place boldly as the first member of my organization, Akatsuki."_

_Also standing up from the muddy ground, the child's amber eyes looked up at the man happily. A bruise swelling at his cheek, but life to this child was no longer going to be boring. _

_"Yes sir!" _

_"Good, then Deidara, let's leave."_

_"Yes sir!"

* * *

_

AN: YAY! It's a fluff! Gotta love fluffs ne?! Anywho, I know most of you were getting ants in your pants, waiting for such a great scene like this one, and I finally did it!! GO ME!! Wait till next chapter though, it'll be even better!

* * *

Next Chapter

* * *

Their embraces couldn't be any more passionate; the love they both had for each other couldn't be any deeper. As their love grows the hate of another begins to cast an angry cloud over them both. In the next chapter of Aurora Borealis, "The Clay Bird and The Swallow."

* * *

To all my reviewers . . . "cries" I LOVE YOU ALL!!! You're so dedicated!

Fanfic by ione


	9. Chapter 8

Authors Notes:

Ione: "barrels through front door, vexed expression and shaking a fist" IS IT DONE YET?!

Mystic: "has a heart attack and hits floor"

Ione: oO!

Mystic: xX

Ione: "glares" you haven't answered me!

Mystic: "pulls self from floor" I feel the love, brat.

Ione: "shakes fist harder" you will if you say it's not done yet.

Mystic: "points to screen and wanders off for a smoke and a pepsi" ….no respect…

Ione: "squeals, reads, blushes and squeals more" YAY! Here it is everyone! Two months overdue, BUT worth the wait! Reviews make me…

Mystic: …US

Ione: "eyebrow" …happy! Enjoy the greatest chapter of ANY DEI/OC!!!!

* * *

Chapter Eight 

The Clay Bird and the Swallow

Aurora Borealis

* * *

_"My choice is to stay, Rei-sama." Spoke Eos silently as she bowed her head to him. It was always respect she gave him and Deidara, what else could she give now that he had hammered down on her._

_"You understand what will happen if you stay?" He wasn't impressed, he thought that the kunoichi would have given up all hope and left. Or rather he had hoped…_

_Leaning on his shoulder that lay on the calligraphy board, the leader proceeded to glare at her._

_"Yes sir, I understand fully." Raising her head, she ended the bow and exited the room. She was glad that the leader didn't argue with her, after all, it would've turned out bad anyway._

* * *

Two weeks later . . . 

Waking up had an unusual effect that morning as Deidara blinked away the sleep in his golden eyes. Sitting outside his room in his usual spot to sleep, sometimes it was horrible being out in the cold while someone warm slept inside. Deidara eyed the doorway to his occupied room. There had been times where he wanted to desperately go in and sleep next to Eos, and sometimes to even tangle his body with hers.

Every night Deidara forced himself to sleep outside, and to forget about the girl who lay just feet away.

Glaring at his hand, he began to curse himself silently.

"Find your hand interesting?"

The sudden deep voice jolted Deidara as the blonde's head turned toward the standing Akatsuki leader. His arms crossed in front of his body, his head slightly tilted forward while his eyes stared out at the courtyard. Deidara, noticing he had put a good three feet between himself and Rei, took a deep breath and leaned against the shoji.

"So you're weak point is when you're half asleep?" queried Rei in almost a playful manner. The tone was so low, however, that Deidara could barely catch it.

Sighing, Deidara glared, "what do you want . . . un?"

"To talk to you about that girl."

His answer was blunt; not a second separated his reply after the question asked. Deidara smiled, raising his right hand to the back of his neck and fiercely began to rub it.

"Really? There's . . . not that much to talk about . . . un."

"She's decided to stay." Still is blunt as before. Obviously there was something in this situation that Rei wasn't comfortable with.

"Un? Well, there isn't much I can do."

The leader's piercing eyes shot down to Deidara, almost as if it was a warning. Deidara's amber eye watched him curiously, and then slowly he looked away.

Sighing once more, Deidara proceeded, "If she wants to stay, what's the problem with that? She chose to live a life of death, not a life where she could wander, un. I have no problem with what my _pupil_ does."

"It just comes to show me how attached you've become."

Deidara's eye widened to the statement and he felt his heart stop instantly. Suddenly, the leader's gaze was a little more than he bargained for. When it came to attachment, leader was against it. He was so much against it that he would kill the obstructing force immediately if push came to shove. This was a warning from the leader, and one dangerous warning darting straight toward Eos who slept silently in his room.

He refused to look up at the leader; instead the wooden floor seemed pleasing to the eye.

"Listen Deidara, and listen closely . . . If you die, she'll be killed and removed without any remorse. If she dies, then my use for you will become less on missions. You will only have one use . . . " he stated as he walked away from the man on the porch, "and that will be to gain the Jinchuuriki."

When the leader was finally out of sight, Deidara released the breath of air that had been constricting his throat. Without even knowing it, a very slow shiver ran down his back. Would . . . or rather, could he allow himself to die and leave Eos alone in this base? Or, could he let her die so easily?

The incident with finding Eos was turning out to be a very interesting occasion in his life.

Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around his neck, and Deidara's heart skipped another beat for the second time that day. Shooting back his head to look at the girl who lay her head next to Deidara's, the unexpected attention from her was . . . well . . . was strange.

Her arms slightly tightened around his neck, "I'm not scared of the consequences."

Deidara grinned as his hand reached up to her arm, "well, of course, that's how I trained you, un."

However, he knew she was only acting tough to relax him. The knowledge of what she was trying to do was only human, and human she definitely was. Looking back to the floor, he tried to focus on a new strategy to save them both.

One . . . Her arms tighten around his neck . . .

Two . . . Her body is getting closer . . .

Three . . . There is nothing coming to mind . . .

Four . . . Damn! Eos is begging for attention . . .

Five . . . Oh, what was I thinking about?

Quickly, Deidara turned to softly kiss Eos, caressing her lips with his own in a playful manner. Her delicate body now hovering over his shoulder to lean closer, but Deidara slowly pulled away mischievously. His grin growing as Eos tried to get closer, his hands now his only source of sitting up.

But that was not what he wanted . . .

An arm went behind Eos's back and hastily pulled her to the wooden floor. A deep red instantly touched her face, her eyes wide with the fact she was in the submissive position. His body now hovering above hers, her open right leg could feel the fabric of his pant leg.

Deidara laughed at her expression, the deep rush of red on her face telling him she wasn't expecting this. Shaking his head, the only thought that could go through his mind at that moment was . . .

How typical of a virgin . . .

Deidara kissed her gingerly and slowly he pushed for a response, which is what he received. Eos's hands went for his head to pull him closer. Now, there was no way he could pull any jokes on her.

As she felt his passionate kisses over her lips, she couldn't take hold of what was happening. Sure, she had been kissed before, kissing wasn't the problem. She couldn't believe she was kissing Deidara, prodigy of Stone Village, known criminal, and the very man who saved her and took her in, her Sensei. Here he was, trying his hardest to get more of a reaction from her and it thrilled her.

"Oi! Deidara-senpai, where are you?"

Breaking away slowly, Deidara glared up at the direction the voice would most likely come from then looked down to Eos disappointedly. When he was about to say something, Eos's fingers stopped him and she laughed. Deidara watched her as her laugh grew.

"I think we might have woken up the local idiot, un?" She giggled and could feel the smile under his lips grow at her recollection.

"Un?" he queried and she laughed harder, her head going for his shoulder to silence her soon to be loud laughter. He could only smile at her and watch her as the blush in her face slowly faded away. Finally releasing her, Deidara began to stand while his golden eyes did not leave her emerald orbs and then began to walk off.

It was a sincere smile, Eos noted to herself, it was a smile she had only seen in his past self.

That meant he was healing . . .

"Tobi, don't you think it's a little early to wake me up, un?" Deidara yelled back, trying to fight back the huskiness in his own voice. Eos held back a giggle; Deidara was having a hard time to act serious in front of always-energetic Tobi.

When Tobi appeared, Eos also began to make her way toward the masked man. However, her destination was much different from Deidara's, as sadly enough, the dark room with barely any food awaited her. She watched as he leaned on the wooden post and talked to Tobi. Her hand went for his back and softly slid against it. Deidara's eyes instantly locked with the back of her head as she made her way to the kitchen to start breakfast.

"Um . . . Deidara-senpai . . . what happened between you and Eos?" asked Tobi as he watched Deidara's eyes take on a sudden gloom.

"Should I even ask?" he was curious of the situation between Eos and Deidara, however, prying into an artist's deep brain was a mistake for any person.

Smiling behind his mask, Tobi risked annoying Deidara, "I'm sorry senpai, I didn't interrupt anything did I?"

Mentally taking inventory of the weapons hidden on his body, Deidara angled a low glare to the spiky haired idiot before him. _'Four kunais in easy reach, half a dozen shuriken resting in hip pouch… clay, damnit no clay.'_

"You really don't want to live to see your next year, un?"

Clueless as ever, Tobi chuckled softly to himself, "So, she's a virgin huh?"

"…okay, you're dead."

Hands waving frantically before him, Tobi quickly tried to explain himself, "Its just that, knowing you and knowing your tastes, not to mention the fact that we are always so busy and never really have the time to take it…slow… just wanted to warn you Senpai!"

Bafflement was not an emotion Deidara enjoyed expressing, "I have good taste, un! I'm an artist, I KNOW art!"

Nodding and chuckling, Tobi agreed, "Yes, yes, but do you know what to do with a virgin?"

There it was again, that annoying baffled feeling. Of course he knew what to do with a virgin… seriously it wasn't that difficult to understand. Tab A goes into Slot B… same story, slightly different and unused tune.

Tobi grinned behind his mask at the confused expression gracing Deidara's features, "Here allow me to explain…"

For a moment Deidara wondered if Rei-sama would really _miss _Tobi much?

* * *

In Stone Village

* * *

"But, Nami-san, this is suicide!" 

"Shut up!" Yelled a rather irritated blond as she stared angrily into the mirror before her.

"Nami-sama, please understand . . . The Akatsuki aren't a group soft criminals, they'll kill you without hesitation." Spoke the man who leaned on a cane, wrinkles surrounding his eyes and lips.

Nami paused for a moment; a kunai hovered above her sack as her eyes glared at the old picture of her family. Father at top, Deidara beside him, his usual grin in place, their mother and then the baby, Nami. Those days . . . they will never come back, they were just memories of how things used to be, of how things should've been. Grinding her teeth, Nami glowered at the picture.

"I will no longer be that closed book wrapped in fabric." Without turning, Nami briskly backhanded the picture, forcing it to break and fall to the floor. Shards of glass glittered in the light, threatening any person to come near.

The old man with his eyes now closed, sighed and shook his head calmly, "Did your father approve?"

Nami chuckled at the question, intensifying the air even more than before. Of course she hadn't told her father of her new escapade. He definitely wouldn't approve of it, but she felt the need to do it. Her amber eyes glared into the sack with all her supplies, then looked at the wakizashi lying a few feet away.

"Nami-san, please, at least think of what you're doing." The boy to her side, a cousin of hers, tried to calm her down by touching her back but Nami slapped him away.

"What did I tell you? Shut up or I will silence you both!"

Both occupants sealed their mouths shut; it would not be wise to tell her to stop any more. She was as stubborn as her father, and with that little detail marked the beginnings of darkness in her soul.

"I know there is something between Deidara and Eos . . . However, I will not allow him to live a life with the girl who murdered our mother who was sick in bed." She yelled back at the two men in the room and placed both her hands on the wooden table with all of her weapons. Quickly her hands tightened into fists as the memory came back to her . . . She knew all to well that Deidara loved Eos . . .

It sickened her . . .

Who could love someone like that?

* * *

Past

* * *

_Nami halted her movements as her own wakizashi was turned against her in the hand of her older brother. His amber eye peering down at her as if she were just a mere bug. His smug expression slowly turning away into a soft glare, one that curiously calmed Nami._

_"I'm giving you this one chance, un."_

_"What?" Nami glared at him through her eyebrows, "What do you mean?" Clenching her fists, she was preparing for an explanation that she wasn't ready to receive._

_"Nami . . . Forget about me being your elder brother . . . I don't consider you a younger sister, un. If you walk out of here now, there will not be any more bloodshed."_

_Her heartbeat stopped and Nami could feel the onslaught of raw emotions._

_"Also," His eye became something that only a murderer possessed, "if you lay one hand on Eos, I will follow you into Hell and torture you, myself, un."_

_Nami sat still, her eyes peered into her brother's and slowly they widened with more regrettable fear. Never before had she feared her brother, she never really took him seriously enough to fear him. When the wakizashi fell to the ground with a loud clang and the man retreated from the scene, Nami was left with all emotions leaking into her limbs, making her paralyzed._

_She knew then, that there was no way she could harm her brother . . ._

_

* * *

_

"What?" Eos dropped the diary that she had held in her hand. When it fell to the floor, the soft thump wasn't even heard by the adult. On the opposite side of the room, leaning against the shoji door, was Deidara. His eye remained on Eos, watching her expression closely. Observing how her eyes seemed locked to one place on the floor and her body appeared to have lost all energy.

"Nami . . . wants to kill me?" her voice staggered on the woman's name as her body threatened to shut down.

"Eos . . . Nami seems to know you very well, may I ask why?" Questioned Deidara, his narrow eye still on the now shaking Eos, while his body tilted slightly to one side.

Almost as if she had not heard him, Eos's hand went to touch her lips, "It has to be because of her mother . . . but why is she still . . ."

"Our mother." Deidara corrected.

Eos's eyes locked on Deidara as the silence swept through the room. It took Eos only a few minutes before she began to explain her side of the story. However, she trembled as she tried to remember how it all happened, how the woman in her past had stabbed herself in the stomach and bled to death. It was the first time Eos had experienced a death, and it was one that caused her to scream and cry to this day.

A hand went for her stomach as she finally realized she had been slowly falling to the floor. Deidara held her firmly in his hold, moving himself and her toward the nearest wall to sit. He knew by the expression on her face that her past had not been one of beautiful dreams and a child's artistic innocence.

Taking a steady breath, Eos started, "Nami and I were introduced to each other because of the recent happenings within the Kuchi family. I don't know the specific details, but I do know that I was to be the sparring partner with Nami. Not only that, I never really got to see my father . . ."

Laying his head on hers told Eos that this time, he was actually listening.

"Your mother took me in as a second daughter . . . so to speak . . . Nami and I were really close and you could say we were closest friends . . . However . . ." Eos paused and fought back the need to sob.

"You mother became really sick . . . and, and, when the doctor looked at her . . . he said she was going to be bedridden for a long time. They said she had some kind of disease that when you get cut . . . you won't stop bleeding . . . Then, one day, while I was in there giving her some food, she had brought up the subject of killing herself."

There was another deep sigh as she fought back the sob.

"I . . . I told her . . . that maybe she shouldn't but she told me about her disease, how her life span had been cut very short . . . She told me that she wanted to die . . . to get away from her husband and the clan . . . to be free . . ."

A stray tear rolled down her cheek and Deidara wiped it away with his thumb, all the while, his eyes stared at the open diary.

"I told her Deidara . . . I told her . . . if she wanted to, if that is what she believed, maybe she should . . ."

Eos turned her head and buried her face in his mesh shirt, her arms wrapped around his body to stop the shaking. She was neatly curled in between his legs and his arms were comfortably around her shoulders.

He could feel the wet tears, her eyelashes tickled his somewhat bare skin. All in all, he wasn't impressed with Nami or Eos. What was the big deal? Nami definitely didn't know her mother well enough to understand her ideals. Certainly, their mother was one of the most adventurous people who believed in a day of peace. She was so adventurous that she wouldn't be able to stay in bed the rest of her life.

He wasn't impressed with Eos because what she did was, in all technicality, the right thing to say and yet she felt she did wrong. Eos held no standing in the family, as she was just a dirtied-blood child. The likeliness that he had fallen in love with a close cousin was just almost impossible. She didn't have the blonde hair, the golden eyes, and the womanly body. No, Eos was Eos, a perfect piece of artwork, and a masterpiece.

Smiling, Deidara looked down at the nineteen year old, "Eos, I've told Nami that if she hurts you, she'll pay for it."

Eos's green eyes looked up to Deidara in an almost pleading way, "Deidara?"

His lips slightly parted as his grin grew wider, "As my pupil, I will protect you, un."

The girl in his arms tried hard not to laugh at his comment, even through the tears, she had always been easy to make laugh.

When Deidara's arms tightened around her to bring her closer, his lips touched her forehead gently. Then releasing her comfortably, he moved into a more comfortable spot.

"Deidara-"

"Stop."

Eos looked up at Deidara, with their faces only inches away from each, she stared at him curiously. When a hand went to her cheek, she felt the need to let her head fall into his hand but she refused.

"What happened to the usual 'Sensei'?" he asked as he gingerly began to kiss her forehead then worked his way down to her nose where he playfully stopped. Eos glared at him when he only touched her lips with his thumb. Her hand grasped his wrist and yanked his hand away from her face than kissed him desperately on the lips. She had never thought how intoxicating a kiss could merely be, but it affected her like the worst drug.

"Impatient as always, Eos, apparently you still have much to learn." Deidara whispered against her swollen lips before taking control of their kiss with the tilt of his head.

Eos gasped as a new wave of sensations rolled across her small frame. Her hand quickly released its grip on his wrist as she lost herself to his kiss.

Pulling away Deidara smirked, his recently freed hand moved to cup her face tenderly as he purred, "I see my pupil is ready to learn, un?" Without giving her a moment to collect her thoughts and ponder what he had just spoken, Deidara pulled her close and lazily rolled her to her back. Lips curving into a self satisfied smile, hovered just above her own, he craved to draw out the fiery side of his soon to be lover.

Deidara didn't have to wait very long before her eyes opened and quickly narrowed, "Do not play with me Sensei."

With a soft laugh, he flicked the tip of her nose with his tongue, "Ah, but life is far too short to not enjoy these simply pleasures to their fullest. My sweet, delicious Eos…" His lips crashed upon hers in a rush and his hands swiftly found their way to her sides.

For a moment Tobi's disturbing speech ran through his mind before he abruptly ended the train of thought with a large ball of mental clay.

'Soft…' Eos sighed as her fingers ran through Deidara's long pale locks of hair. His kisses had grown softer as he moved from her lips to her neck, movement was currently beyond her. Her hands growing tired of playing with his hair moved to remove the annoyance of the binocular over his left eye only to find that… it wasn't important. His hands were treading dangerous territory.

Deidara felt her tense beneath him and shushed her softly, his hand relocating to put her back at ease. "I suppose now would be the time to tell you, if your not ready, tell me so."

Her eyes narrowed though her lips remained upturned, "hmmm, and now would be the time for me to tell you, Oh Deidara, please take me! I'm yours!"

Blinking blankly, Deidara asked blandly, "is it too big?"

Eos went red and turned her face away, how was she suppose to respond to that?!

With a chuckle, he nuzzled her cheek, "something for future reference, say yes. Gives us men a nice big ego, un."

"Your ego is large enough, Sensei." She murmured; face slowly turning to meet his smiling one.

"Thank you," his words breathed gently against the flesh of her cheek, nuzzling her to turn completely. With his wish granted Deidara sought out her lips once more, his hands moving slowly as to allow her to accept their new and strange presence on her person.

Eos could feel herself falling into the drug like haze that held her before. It seemed absurd that she would allow herself to so willingly fall into the same trap, but for the first time in her young life she didn't care. She was tired of the constant self-control and wanted someone to guide her, teach her and take her.

Apparently, the same thought had been going through Deidara's mind. Kisses that moments ago had been lazy picked up tempo. Hands that moments ago had been wary now grew attentive as they gently pushed her to lie against the mat.

'…_you'll want to go slow, senpai, she's going to be like a newly formed butterfly emerging from its cocoon, she won't know what to expect _or_ do…'_

Deidara sighed into her hair, her clean smell enveloping him in a temporary cocoon of false security. His long fingers gently uncurled from her shoulders as they followed the silky softness of the flesh of her arms to the belt that wrapped around her waist. His fingers gently tugged at the fabric while he nibbled her nape and brought forth soft moans from his small soon to be lover.

"So soft, so good." He murmured breathlessly against her neck as Eos arched into his touch and moaned softly.

How had she so easily succumbed to this? Wandering in a maze of sensations with small pangs of uncertainty, did it bother him that she had never done this before? Eos knew his previous exploits with women had all come from local brothels, so did her naivety in this subject frustrate or bother him? She tried to fight the sudden insecurity, but could not and her body tensed tightly as Deidara's long fingers shortly grazed the skin of her upper thigh.

With a soft sigh and one pale eyebrow raised, Deidara stopped his exploration of Eos' body yet again. His fingers retreated to the bedding under them and fisted it tightly. He had wondered if he would reach this critical point with her, or if her nerves were more than he expected.

For once, he actually hoped he had been wrong. That Tobi, that blasted, bumbling buffoon high on something Deidara certainly did not want to know of, had been wrong as well. In addition, he had a distinct feeling this was going to be a bit awkward for her.

"I'm sorry…" her words were soft and so very quiet, forcing Deidara to lower his head and pay better attention.

"For what?" He asked simply.

Her silence stretched out to the point Deidara could no longer take it and he sought to quell the heavy sigh that wanted to pass his lips. His eyes narrowed when he noticed a slight shimmer to her eyes, he growled.

With care, he rose away from her prone and stiff form and sat cross-legged beside her. "Eos. Up."

Instead of rising, she curled tightly into her self and fought off the sobs that threatened to break free and turn this fantasy into the cold hard reality that it was.

"I'm so sorry, Deidara." Her voice was choked with despair.

"…_remember, DO NOT MAKE HER CRY! If she does, for Kami's sake HOLD her…"_

He wanted to curse. He wanted to curse, whine and have someone else deal with this. But he couldn't, because he never wanted to make her cry. She was too strong to cry…and to cry because, because of… um? Deidara sighed heavily, this was all so … meh!

"Why are you crying, un?" Changing positions, he rested his face in his open hand as he leaned against his knee.

More silence.

Blast that woman! How could he fix something if he didn't know where it was broken?!

Granted, he was better at breaking things than fixing them…well, more like blowing them up. However, that was not the point here, Eos was distraught over something that was stuck in her pretty, little head and he had to guess to find out.

Fine.

"You're going to make me guess, un? Okay, are you on your monthly cycle?" He watched in growing amusement as her shoulder twitched and changed tactics. With the ease of a born predator, Deidara swiftly pounced, lifted her and resettled her on his lap; barely eliciting more than a small gasp from Eos.

"You're horribly disfigured and you don't want me to see? No? You ARE worried that I am much too big and couldn't possibly fit? No, how insulting! What about… oh! My touch has brought you so much ecstasy that it has but you to tears, un?" Pausing for a moment to tilt her face upward, his smile softened as he wiped the tear tracks from her cheeks. And in a moment of insightfulness, answered her unspoken fear with reassurance, "You don't have to be afraid, un, I'm… kinda… new at this too."

Eos wanted to cry and she wanted to laugh, then she wanted to slap him silly for his wild imagination. Looking into his visible eye, she felt herself fall once more. Delicately she lifted her hand and caressed his cheek, moving slowly higher until her fingers rested just beneath the bifocal. Fingering the rather large device in curiosity, Eos sat up and carefully examined it. In all the years she had known him, she had never had him gaze at her with two unaided eyes.

"Does it come off?" Eos whispered her voice still rough from her tears.

"Will you tell me what's wrong?" Deidara smirked with a tilt of his head.

Eos' eyes narrowed, "Just forget about it and chalk it up to virginal nerves."

Deidara's expression mirrored hers and his voice growled softly, "That's an excuse, not an answer, un."

"It's the best you're going to get, so deal with it." She growled back at him, her fingers curving under the bifocal and tugging gently.

Deidara had an insane urge to stick his tongue out at her but held it off when he realized her fingers were quite persistently pulling his scanner off.

"Ow! Easy, un!" Batting her small hands away, he removed the delicate device; his newly exposed eye blinking as it adjusted to the sunlight and air.

Tenderly Eos reached forward, smoothed his bangs out of the way and smiled. Two bright blue eyes now gazed back at her with the same intensity as before but somehow affecting her stronger.

Maybe it was his smile and the way it was now shown in both brilliant blue eyes, she couldn't be sure. She smiled hesitantly and leaned closer, her movements coaxed by the tenderness she could read in his expression. Her hand left her lap, lifting to caress his cheek then stroking his soft lips and running tenderly down his throat, across his chest and resting against his heart.

Deidara's eyes never left hers, his hand also lifting to cup the one against his heart while he pulled her forward and slanted his lips across hers. His lips softly coaxed her own while demanding nothing until he felt her arms drape around his neck. Pulling away slightly, Deidara explored the slender white column of her throat, his soft tantalizing kisses tracing along Eos' throat until their lips met once more.

Tbc . . .

* * *

AN: YAY! It's done! Everyone thank MysticInca, who, throughout all of these months, has been tediously working on this scene! For those of you who are reading this at Fanfiction . net, there is a full out lemon scene at ionegirl . deviantart . com… You'll see it when you get there! AND NOW! To continue on with the next chappy!

* * *

Next Chapter: Danger comes stalking

* * *

To all of my reviewers . . . CANDY TO YOU ALL! X3 

Fanfic by ione


	10. Chapter 9

AN: (collapses onto floor) OMG! I'm so sorry everyone for getting this chapter out so late. I'm now going through the most horrible stage a writer can have! THE STAGE OF FINISHING A STORY! AH!

* * *

Chapter nine

Danger Comes Stalking

Aurora Borealis

* * *

Warmth . . . It was the only thing that her body cared about at that moment in time. She could feel the hot sun melt away her softened body, and all her energy melted away when her eyes opened. It was barely silent outside; the bird's chirping songs seemed to have weakened, telling that fall was coming.

Outstretching her hand, she found that the only thing beside her was the comfortable blankets and bed underneath. Her hand went higher to where the pillow lay haphazardly, due to Deidara's constant turns. A small smile graced her lips at the memory they had made last night but her stomach did not share her happiness. It grumbled loudly and, to her own drama, began to hurt rather badly.

Trying to cover herself with her blanket, she sat up in bed and felt as a cool breeze went up her spine. It brought shivers to her arms and she quickly dove under the sheets again. Peering to the empty spot beside her, her hand went to touch the cold fabric again.

He had left a while ago . . .

Turning to put her legs over the side of the bed, she thought the next best thing was to get dressed and start preparing dinner since, obviously, it was too late to make breakfast. Sighing, she uncovered her body and grabbed the cold blue and green fabric of her kimono. Slipping it on and the green obi that held her outfit together, Eos couldn't help the want of falling asleep again. With the right side of her kimono open to show her bare thigh and leg, she could feel the coldness drift into her skin.

Leaving the bed in a complete mess, Eos left the room and made her way to the kitchen. She had no idea what she was going to make, all she knew was that they were running out of food. When she entered the kitchen, she knew all to well that there was another person in there, but to know that Deidara was in there… now that was something she didn't expect.

Standing comfortably against the wooden counter without a shirt and seemingly wet hair, the blonde leaned over a piece of paper. The soft tapping of the pencil in his hand strengthened her curiosity and she proceeded to walk to him.

She almost laughed at how her hand, with a slight touch on his back, brought shivers down his spine.

Muttering softly, Deidara shifted around to face her, "You're cold, un."

Eos blinked and glared up at him, "Of course I'm cold! I wasn't the one who took a bath."

Leaning his face down toward her, Deidara smiled down at her through two amber eyes, "I'm sorry, I didn't think that you would wake up so early, since obviously, you enjoy your beauty sleep so much, un."

Her emerald eyes still glowered up at him, scrutinizing him with that always simple glare. Then, with a slight tilt of her head, those same green eyes peered to the countertop where the paper lay, and then looked back up at him.

"What are you doing in here?" she casually spoke which signaled something in the man before her to turn slightly around and glance at the ripped sheet. With a smirk, his amber eyes turned back to her.

"Grocery list." Was his simple reply.

"Grocery list?" She questioned him, raising a delicate eyebrow and eyeing him carefully so as to not lose any information his face would give her.

"Yes, Eos, a grocery list. With you here, we men eat more than we are used to. You women, you're always trying to make us like those feudal lords aren't you… un?" Deidara's lips gently ran across the bare skin of her neck. She hadn't put her hair up into the usual ponytail, but still it refused to drape around her neck. Allowing the movement, Eos only stared at the wall furthest from her.

"Speaking about feudal lords…" she whispered bringing his motions over her to stop abruptly.

"Un?" he immediately replied. Eos could feel the tenseness in his voice, that was the first indication that he was indeed, curious, as to what she was going to say.

"That day . . . when I found you over that feudal lord's body, why did you look so shocked to see me?"

Sighing in contemplation, Deidara raised his wet head to above her and locked with her eyes again.

Looking aside and raising his eyebrows, Deidara coughed, "What feudal lord, that guy was some pig, not a feudal lord, un."

Grabbing his chin with her small hand, Eos forced him to look up at her, "Well, you know, you made me look bad in the end."

"Un?" Perking his curiosity, he straightened and grinned the most self-appreciative grin that she had seen on him yet.

"Un." She confirmed sternly, "and plus, I ran off after you to make it look like you were the bad guy… but… it appears that I have just ran away for no apparent reason causing some ninjas to come after me."

The grin only grew more with each word.

"You're a jerk, Sensei." She said with a slight scoff, releasing his chin and laying her hand on his chest. It was feeling so awkward between him and her, getting so much attention from the man who saved her and trained her, who took her in when she was in desperate need and then tossed her away. She was in love with the man who had changed her life, and she didn't care.

Watching as her eyes turned from strong to soft was a relatively strange occurrence to catch and Deidara concentrated on her wandering face. Why hadn't he seen that expression before with her, an expression that appeared at peace but at the same time, worried.

Deidara laughed, "I thought you were ugly… so maybe I am a jerk . . . un."

Eos's gaze returned to him, "Sensei, what if she comes?"

Frowning, Deidara leaned in closer to hear her mumbled words, "What?"

Taking a deep breath, she looked away from his stare, "What if Nami comes?"

Nami, that's right, the woman wanted to kill Eos . . . and only because Eos supposedly killed their mother. It amazed him how naïve she was but how strong she was at the same time. She was a worthy enemy for Eos, but nothing more than an amateur to him. He wouldn't ever let Nami near Eos, he couldn't any longer let Eos place herself in danger until everything was cleared up.

Deidara mused to himself about what the Kyuubi boy had said to him before, how he wanted to protect his important people. So, did that mean Eos was important to him now?

Obviously.

"Forget about Nami, Eos, she won't ever find the Akatsuki base. You can't leave this place, so Nami can never come in."

This comforted her, and he smiled as her fears were assuaged. However, a thought crossed his mind and, without even thinking about it, Deidara raised the small woman into his arms. A surprised yelp and a few pushes was all that he faced, but that could be easily dealt with.

Eos stared at the mischievous face of her sensei and frowned when he looked at her through happy amber eyes.

"So, my student, would you like to have another lesson?"

Oh, the blush that swept over her face at the moment could've made any man love her more.

"In what may I presume?" Her hesitant voice hitched unsteadily as he walked her out of the kitchen.

"Oh, nothing much, just a lesson in bathing… un."

"Wait, what!?"

* * *

Somewhere in Rain Country

* * *

"Here's your apple ma'am." Courteously the elderly man handed the dark figure the red fruit, letting it rest in her hand. She stared at its shiny texture; dark spots of red blotted the surface. Only the skin of a concealed center that when bitten into delivered the sigh of delicious victory. Grabbing a couple more apples, she paid the man the proper amount of money and made her way through the crowded marketplace.

Wearing a black coat that stretched down to her knees, her blond hair drifted in the air as she walked forward. Amber eyes glaring at any individual who dared to threaten or speak to her.

She had received information that the Akatsuki base was somewhere in the country of rain, which made her laugh. To think that her brother was so close to her most of the time was just humoring. However, this inner mission was not made for just pure amusement…

Okay, maybe it was…

Nami was determined to destroy a single woman's life, she was determined to teach her brother what it meant to be a member of the Kuchi family. Had he not forgotten the pride in the family, he would've never stooped so low as to fall in love with the girl who had killed their mother. Eos was a spawn of evil, an annoying splotch on a clear window. This time though, Nami would change all of that, even if her father disagreed.

What would he care?

He would rather have her become a breeder than a kunoichi.

Taking an apple and kunai from her pack, she sliced off the rough skin and tossed it to the ground, then took a deep, satisfying bite from it.

With all her might, she forced the image of her brother glaring down at her, his amber eyes dark and foreboding.

"If you lay one hand on Eos, I will follow you into Hell and torture you, myself, un."

A small grin relinquished itself from her lips as a soft chuckle began to shake her body. Stabbing the kunai into the wall beside her, she glared into the near forest and laughed.

"I'll take you up on that challenge, Deidara. I'll make you regret the day you took that murderer in and make you suffer."

Pulling out the kunai and finally putting it back into her pouch, Nami continued to chuckle as she ate the apple. Her eyes looked down at the part of the fruit she had been tearing apart with her teeth and her grin lost its strength.

"_Nami-sama! Wait up, please!"_

Eos…

"_Hey, Nami-sama, we should go and pick on that little boy."_

Why?

"_I think its best that we stop for today, what about you Nami-sama?"_

Crunch! Without even realizing it, her hand had been squeezing the apple to kingdom come. Her amber eyes stared at the smashed pieces of apple in her hand, watched at the juices leaked away from her fingers to only drip sadly to the ground.

Sighing in utter defeat, Nami wiped the juices onto her coat and continued down the road. Deciding that gaining some more information on the Akatsuki's whereabouts might as well be the best plan.

* * *

"Deidara-senpai?"

"What?"

"Deidara-senpai?"

"What!"

"Deidara-senpai!"

"What, un?!"

"Are you going to tell me about your night with Eos?"

Deidara gave Tobi a deep glare, "No."

Sighing, Tobi complained once more, "But, I was the one who lent you all those tips! Didn't you use them?"

Stopping abruptly, Deidara held back the urge to kill the man right there on the spot. Sadly enough, he had used the stupid tips that the masked man had given him and had ultimately saved the relationship between him and her. Still, couldn't he act a little more like an adult in the situation?

Wait, this was Tobi . . .

Of course he couldn't . . .

"I said no, idiot."

"But that's what you told me last time!"

Throwing the list at the man in black, Deidara grinned, "And I plan on telling you that again and again, un!"

Pointing angrily at the blond, Tobi yelled, "You cheapskate! That's the last time I give you any pointers!"

Deidara paused as he looked around; people in the streets had stopped all movement and began to watch them. Then again, it didn't help with them wearing the Akatsuki cloaks.

* * *

Stretching the laziness out of her limbs, Eos fell back onto the wooden floor of the porch. She never realized how incredibly bored she could get when she wasn't cooking. No wonder she never went stir-crazy in the base, she was always cooking it seemed. If not for the men who occasionally stayed there, then for the leader who was always locked up in his room.

Giving a stiff glare toward the direction of the Akatsuki leader, Eos recalled the memory or him talking her down so easily. She had found a new respect for him, a new reason to keep all questions about him at bay. It would be wise not to aggravate the leader of a group of S-rank criminals.

Lifting herself off of the porch, she balanced the stare at a strange rock a few feet ahead.

This… is… boring!

Slouching with the lack of energy to do anything, Eos drawled out a long, easy sigh.

"Eos, you over there, un?"

Quirking her head up, she turned toward the direction of the cave and smiled. After all, they really didn't need that much stuff in town, so it wouldn't take them any length of time to get back.

"Yes?"

There was an awkward silence afterward that quickly erased all happiness.

"Good, why don't you come out here? I got something to show you, un."

Wait, go outside the base?

Wasn't that off-limits?

Or was this . . .

No, it couldn't be. Deidara was just simply going to ease her pain of being bored. That was it, nothing more, nothing less. He told her that she had nothing to worry about, that she'd be fine.

But that was as long as she stayed inside the base.

Walking slowly toward the entrance of the cave, she abruptly stopped and looked back to see if the leader was watching her. When there was no one in view she continued down the dark tunnel. Strays of light beamed down from the newly opened doorway.

Well, if he was going to let her go outside, then why not?

Lifting the last remaining barrier of the base, she hesitantly peered behind down the tunnel. Seeing no one was there to glare down at her, Eos took one brave movement and slowly raised herself out of the square hidden doorway. An awkward feeling of freedom swept over her torso and she froze as she stared out to the glistening leaves surrounding her.

She had forgotten what the outside of the base looked like compared to what she had been living in. It was like to completely different worlds, one with life and one with darkness and fear. Standing up, Eos slightly wobbled from the uneven ground beneath her. Streams of sunlight beat down on the grass patched ground, illuminating the pathway that the members tread to get to the spot. Tall grasses pushed away and a dying patch of green leading to the doorway.

Turning on her heel, she could see that the trail kept on going over the doorway back into the forest. A smile tugged at her lips.

Of course the Akatsuki wouldn't allow themselves to be found so easily.

"Deidara?" Eos whispered carefully, so carefully as to keep silent from any predators.

The moment of solemnity didn't last however, as an almost inaudible rustling came from her left. In an abrupt action she watched as one sharp piece of metal came flying toward her. Quickly jumping back from the spot, Eos fell back into another trap and was immediately entangled with wires.

Wriggling in the wire trap caused more pain than it should as the wires began to pierce her skin. Biting her lip, she grimaced as she could feel her own skin break to the strands of metal.

"That was easy."

Her heart stopped and cautiously, her eyes found a pair of amber orbs mockingly watching her. If it weren't for the instant strain on her body, Eos would've run for the exit. She cursed herself for leaving the base, knowing that Deidara would've never called out to her.

Shakily, Eos spoke, "Nami-sama…"

Those same amber eyes now narrowed into thin slits as she smiled down at Eos from the branch above.

"Eos." She happily spoke, and then jumped from the branch to land before he newly caught prey. "How is my brother doing?" Tilting her head to her side, her eyes shot daggers at the woman hanging.

She wanted to laugh, as a matter of fact; she could feel herself chuckling at her situation. Closing her eyes she could feel an inner fear inside of her raise once more, the same fear that Deidara had tried to quell. Tears gathering up in the corners of her eyes, she knew that this day would come sooner or later. Eos laughed at the new predicament that she had placed herself willingly into. She really was…

…A stupid student.

"What are you laughing at?" Swiftly raising a kunai to Eos' throat, Nami watched as the smile on the woman's face soften to a smaller smile. What was she so happy about, was she glad to die?

"It's funny . . ." Eos whispered as her throat now threatened to clench harder.

Nami frowned and held the kunai level to the woman's throat, "What is?"

Opening her eyes, she looked back at the girl with some resemblance of Deidara. A stray tear managed to break free from the corner of her eye.

"He said he would protect me . . . from you . . . and now look where I'm at." Again she sadly giggled as the fear once again made itself known.

Nami sighed, "My brother makes a lot of statements . . . but never a promise. You made the mistake to believe in him, and now look where you are. Tied to two trees with a wire clearly keeping ahold of you and a kunai held to your throat."

A sudden memory, rather peculiar, jumped through her mind with one the highest of whistles and replayed in her mind's eye.

_Eos's head spun toward him, her emerald eyes wide with surprise. She leapt of the rock and turned her body toward him stiffly. Both of her arms held behind her back, almost suspiciously. Nervously, she smiled at him and closed her eyes to hold back some of the emotions that were easily draining out of them._

_Deidara smirked, "Damn, I was so close. I could've stolen you purse, un."_

The giggles went an octave lower and she took a deep breath, "Don't suppose you wanna steal my purse too?"

She really does want to die, doesn't she? Nami thought that the Eos she had known in the past was just going to be a so-called damsel in distress. It appears that in the deepest horror Eos was able to find some humor.

Like her brother . . .

He was always pulling jokes . . .

Relaxing a little under Nami's weak stare and smiled, "Really, Nami-sama, the least you could do is let me fight back."

Nami smiled, "Fine, but either way you're dead."

* * *

In the village

* * *

"Let's see, we got the rice, the beef and the spices. Now what is left?" Pondering over the list, Tobi walked back and forth in the street as Deidara just merely glared at the people walking in the street. Smiles on their faces and unaware of the danger next to them, they were all so free. Leaning on one hand, he averted his eyes to the man walking a hole into the ground.

Sighing, Deidara frowned, "Ya' know, you act like a woman when you shop, un."

Tobi turned to Deidara and scoffed, "But, Deidara-senpai! If we don't get all these supplies then Eos-kun can never make us a wonderful meal!" Bringing his hands together, he sighed, "just the thought makes me hungry."

Deidara blinked at his partner's words . . . Eos wasn't that great of a cook, she mainly only made rice and soup. Sure, sometimes the food was good, but it was never anything to be made perfect. He just hoped Tobi was over-doing it to get on his nerves.

Well, it was working.

"Would you stop pacing and sit down, un!"

Tobi waved off Deidara's comment and continued to wear that hole into the rocky soil. Leaning back onto his hands, Deidara stared out into no where.

He could be annoying Eos right now…

BANG!! The world around him shook so violently that it sent Tobi to the ground. Nearly falling off his seat, Deidara's eyes shot to the area where the noise had come from. A cloud of dust and debris scattered the sky for a short moment before clearing to reveal a relatively jagged piece of earth sticking above the trees.

"OW! What was that?" Grabbing his head, Tobi rubbed the area of impact and groaned at the pain that throbbed. Glancing up at Deidara, Tobi was shocked to find Deidara's expression change so quickly. One moment shocked, and the next a glower.

"Um… Deidara-senpai?"

"Tobi, see that jagged mountain over there?"

The black haired man turned to see what his partner was glowering at and surely enough, there was an ominous mountain in the forest.

"Yeah?"

"You know where that is, un?"

"Um, the forest?"

An angry amber eye glared at Tobi, "It's the Akatsuki base, you idiot!" With that said, Deidara's leg did the rest of the talking as he sprinted off.

"Hey! Deidara-senpai, wait!" Jumping from the ground, Tobi followed in slow pursuit.

The noise stopped, all he could hear was his thumping heart. His mind was no longer processing the images in his head. Everything now lay around that mountain in the forest.

What was worse, he had left the base completely unprepared. There was no inkling of the thought that there was going to be an attack while Tobi and him was away. The mountain however, was deemed more ominous than he wanted to see. It was the same jutsu that Nami had last used on him, and though he barely managed to get out of that situation alive, he knew Eos would never make it.

That was the forbidden jutsu of the first tsuchikage, a jutsu that could only be passed down by blood. The question was how she attained such a destructible jutsu. Deidara certainly didn't know, but he did know that on foot it would take far too long to reach the base.

Kami, don't let him be the incompetent one for a change…

* * *

Pain . . . She knew a part of her body was severely damaged due to the increasing numbness. Pushing herself off of the ground with her right hand, Eos coughed in agony. She could feel the dirt scattered over her body, and in her eyes. All sound in the forest had become inaudible because of the ringing in her ears. Slightly opening her eyes, she could see the towering jagged rock that she had barely dodged. Though, she knew she was already badly injured from the attack.

The ringing in her ears slowly died away as she pushed more to place herself in a sitting position. Looking down at her left side, she could see the newly formed gash in fabric and her blood slowly soaking it.

"Peh, you really are weak. How could Deidara ever love a person like you?" Said Nami as she stepped into Eos' range of view. She frowned at her from the scattering dust that still had yet to settle.

Tightening the glove on her right hand, Nami proceeded to stride toward the woman bleeding on the ground.

"I won't show any mercy to her." She thought as she let her hand fall to her side while her other hand raised behind her head for another blow.

Without another movement, Eos grimaced, "Why, Nami, why are you doing this? I don't understand."

Nami blankly stared down at the woman she held firmly in her hand, and with carelessness, threw Eos away to pillar of rock.

Yelping in pain, Eos quickly grabbed her injured side and slid down to the dirt covered grass. Biting her lip, she tried to ignore the throbs of pain shooting through her body.

"You killed her."

Emerald eyes slightly opened to the ground below, though her face still contorted due to the pain.

"That's all I need to say."

Looking to her side, Eos groaned, "I didn't kill your mother."

Dangerous amber eyes once again shot daggers at her, and she knew another word would most definitely damn her. Stepping quickly up to Eos, the blonde once again grabbed her with a fisted hand to level their faces.

"Nami-sama, you know that I couldn't have killed your mother… Since, she was technically treating me like another daughter… So to speak, I don't think I could ever allow myself to kill that woman, not even in my dreams."

Raising her hand angrily, Nami glared, "You're lying! I saw you Eos! I saw you next to my mother's body covered in her blood! You pulled a wall over my father's eyes but not mine Eos!"

She was bearing her teeth now, and her amber eyes were starting to resemble those of an inborn killer.

"Now, you're with my brother! Do you realize how long I've been trying to find him Eos? Do you? Ever since he left, ever since he was dragged out of my home and pulled to the ground by that horrible man, I've wanted to see him since then! I thought that maybe being a ninja would help me find him, somehow, I would see him again! But you…"

Eos begun to bite her lip and bringing enough chakra to her hands for protection, she readied her body for the assault.

Nami continued, "You destroyed that possibility! I will never see my brother again, not like how he used to be!" Now, both hands clenched the woman's throat and Eos tried in vain to remove those very hands, "How many people must you take away from me until you're happy! You're nothing more than a demon in disguise!"

It was then that Eos released her chakra into Nami's hands, causing slight holes to puncture the girl's skin. Taking this chance, Eos jumped back from the now leering girl holding her hands. Nami's eyes had taken an uncharacteristic turn to bloodthirsty.

She really was dealing with a killer, wasn't she?

Taking a deep breath, Eos tried to calm her frazzled nerves.

"Nami-sama, do you remember how ill she was?"

Glowering, she screamed back, "Of course I do!"

Nodding, Eos continued, "Of course, do you think… if placed in the same situation… you could allow yourself to slowly die?"

"My mother wasn't dying!"

"She was," Eos explained, "and she knew that being kept to that bed was going to drain her of the life she had left."

It was in that distinct moment that Nami's form slackened.

"It tore her, Nami-sama… She didn't want you see her slowly slip from the world . . . she told me that she couldn't bear placing that burden on her very own daughter . . . she said that her daughter didn't need to see the darkness of the world so soon."

Turning her face away, Nami continued to be silent, to hear out a reasonable explanation.

"Then, as it would happen, you mother . . . killed herself . . . I guess in a way to protect you."

Eos was also now feeling a little numb, but she knew that the next subject was going to be a more painful feeling. Still, if she was going to die any way, maybe it was the best thing to do.

"As for your brother . . . his personality is constantly changing. One moment he's the kindest of men, the next moment . . . a serious artist ready for the attack… Then, he can be a mischievous person secretly plotting how many ways he can embarrass you." Eos laughed, "I really tried not to care for him, to hate him with every fiber in my body but . . . well . . . you see how that went."

Nami's lips twitched and Eos saw it, "when he said…" Taking a deep breath, she persistently calmed herself down, "when he said that he loved me, that he would protect me . . . I kind of . . . broke." Again she laughed slightly but quickly grimaced from the damage on her left side.

Nami gave Eos the wickedest of glares, and Eos, knowing that something had suddenly gone up Nami's sleeve, took a step back.

Snickering to herself, Nami straightened her body to look toward the female before her. Amber orbs, concealing something sinister within them, stared at her.

"Sorry when I say I don't believe you." Said Nami as her hand raised into the air.

"One other thing Nami-sama…"

Frowning, Nami paused her movement for the final attack, "what?"

Eos smiled as she felt the last shiver of fear fight its way through her, "I really did . . . look up to you."

Nami's facially expression saddened, "Don't worry about a thing Eos . . . it won't hurt for long."

Throwing her hand down to the ground only gave Eos a second to react.

* * *

AN: BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Cliffhanger! I hate them but love them… Just like I loved writing this chappy but hated it at the same time . . . yep . . . I'm starting to dislike Nami alllll over again. Anywho! Please review! They keep me going! Also, I'm thinking of a separate arc for this story . . . call it a sequel . . . don't quite know the name of it yet but I have an idea! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Please don't hurt me……..

* * *

Next Chapter

* * *

The last petal of a flower falls as the green color in the sky turns red, and a man tries to capture that last fleeting moment of beauty. Next chapter of Aurora Borealis . . . "I'm Sorry"

Fanfic by ione


	11. Chapter 10

Pale skin and a tint of red on the woman's lips gave Nami enough information that she was severely injured. A woman who had fallen in love with a murderer – an artist who believes that all art is a bang – and then to be killed because of it. She really did pity Eos at that moment. She had no family, no true sense of direction; Eos had nothing… And neither did Nami. They were both the same yet so different that if things had gone another way; they both would still be having those childish battles and laughing at the boys.

In more ways than one, Nami could see how Eos resembled a sister…

But that didn't matter now. Eos, who had gained the trust of her brother and become a traitor to the family, was now motionless. She lay on her back; her hair had since fallen out of its ponytail now revealing its true length. Her dress had been ripped terribly at the side and the green and blue fabric turned to a deep red. She had various cuts on her body, and a blow to the forehead, knocking her unconscious.

Standing there, observing her, however, did not change the fact that her brother or someone else was on their way to the raised ground.

"Maybe I should tear this down?" Nami set her hand on the jagged raised piece of earth caused from her third-level jutsu. It rose straight into the sky and it could probably be seen for miles.

Looking down to her hand, she noticed a scrape on the top of it, "I'll leave it, I need Deidara to find her."

She glanced down to the still body beside the earth tower and a moment passed by where there was no sound. Then, breaking her glance, she continued on into the forest.

Right now, a safe distance from the woman would be best.

"Damn it, un!" Deidara cursed as he leapt down to the ground. He couldn't see anything when he traveled in the trees. For all he knew, he could've already passed the ominous moutain.

He had lost Tobi somewhere in the beginning of the forest, but knowing Tobi . . . he wouldn't be lost for too long.

Jumping over logs and bushes, Deidara could've sworn that he only heard his heart beat, that the forest stayed silent for a moment. Why, he didn't understand why. His stomach just turned upside down and he would have to force away the nausea.

Why was he starting to feel sick? Was it the sudden jolt of adrenaline? Was it the water or food in the village? Or could it be the fact that it was Nami's technique and it was close-to close- to the base.

Blood.

If there was a smell that was ever to strong, it was blood, and he could nearly taste it. Something had happened, and he hoped it had happened to Nami and not to some other certain individual.

One last jump sent him into a clearing where the tower stood. Blades of grass and fresh dirt lay scattered about, and footsteps, he noted, were everywhere and didn't begin anywhere. Frowning, Deidara began walking around the large tower, his hand rising slightly and he was about to touch it until something caught his eye.

He froze. His body literally seized up at the sight and his throat nearly shut itself completely. Closing his eyes and looking away, he returned his eyes to see if it was just a dream, a hallucination.

It wasn't…

Lying next to the trunk of a tree was a familiar light brown haired woman. Her eyes were closed and in her side was a fatal wound. Blood was still flowing from it, and with that, he immediately knew that the woman was still alive.

As if mere instinct, a familiar grin worked its way onto his lips as he turned to fully see her. Her hair hung loosely from her head, probably due to the loss of a hair tie, and her hand hid part of the woman's face.

The grin softened then as he approached her and very slowly, fell to her side.

An unusual feeling came to his eyes, something that kind of hurt. He reached out for her cheek, and softly he ran down the curve of it to her neck. Feeling for a pulse, he felt the dying beat of her heart. Briskly, he wrapped her up in his arms and lightly shook her. There was something urging him to wake her up, to hold her safely in his arms. Turning her head toward him, Deidara leaned low and stared at her. All the while, he waited for a response, for her to wake up and laugh again. He could feel his eyes swell up against his own will, against his resolve.

Clearing his throat, Deidara softly spoke to her face, "Eos?"

No response. Her body still lay limp in his arms and he knew any moment she would fade away. His amber eyes peered down at her, his gaze almost one of disbelief. Once again, he shook her, this time more fiercely.

"Eos! Wake up, you stupid student!" Still he shook her, and then … both his hands grabbed her head and maneuvered her face to look up at his. His blond hair draped one side of her face and Deidara suddenly had the urge to bite at his cheek.

"Eos, please . . ." God, at that moment, all he wanted was to hear her voice, hear that laughter, hear her sarcastic words that sent him off the edge. Shaking his head in frustration, he pulled off his headband to look at her with two amber eyes. Her body was growing cold, but the pulse was still there.

'Keep your resolve, Deidara. Just keep your resolve.' No matter how much he told himself that, he could still feel himself slip away.

"Eos…" His head dropped to hers, his throat now successfully closing and his chest seized itself from opening.

"Dei…dara…?"

The soft and cracked voice of the woman in his arms startled him and he quickly drew away from her face. His eyes grew wide as she tried to look up at him but continually failed to even open her eyes. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, but that wasn't what caught Deidara's attention. Instead, it was the soft smile that drifted over her lips and slowly fell.

He watched her, not truly knowing what to do with her. Her hand, frail and now white, touched his cheek and for a second, he saw those beautiful emerald eyes.

"Dei…dara… I … I…sor…" her breathy voice shattered something within him; pieces of glass inside him fell to the darkness below.

Eos's hand fell bit by bit back toward her blood-soaked side, and letting out a breath of air, the woman's body finally relaxed in his arms.

He stared at her for what seemed like hours, but was only a moment in time. A drop of water fell to her cheek and rolled down her soft curve. Deidara looked up but saw no clouds, just a pure blue sky. He looked down at her and then felt something wet fall down his own cheek. Slightly surprised, Deidara felt his cheek for a moment and realized he was crying.

Eos was . . .

Gone…

And it hurt so much to know that.

It was then that Deidara lost all control for the first time and fell to pieces silently, gripping a tight hold onto his lost lover. He rocked himself and her, and he shook his head in the crook of her neck.

"Kami, please . . . Don't take her away . . . Please . . . Don't…"

The soft touch of someone's hand on his shoulder made Deidara jump and glare up at the individual.

It was Tobi.

* * *

A couple of hours later

* * *

An aggravated leader tapped his finger on the small table that he continually leaned on. The room was dark, with only Tobi and himself occupying it.

"Report." Was his only demand.

Tobi straightened his back and sighed, "Well, the attack outside the Akatsuki base was not one against the Akatsuki itself, sir. In fact, we believe the attack was made just for Eos-kun."

"I noticed she was gone. Is she dead?" The leader, a half bit carelessly and other seriously queried.

Tobi lowered his head, "Yes, sir, Eos-kun was killed. Deidara-senpai took her to the local morgue."

"Deidara, huh?" It was the first time Tobi had heard the leader act informally. Usually, he was careful with his words, even more so than Itachi. But, the sudden look in the leader's eyes made the masked man worry for a certain artist.

"So, in the end . . . Deidara is not to be trusted . . ."

* * *

Silence . . .

Deidara smiled as he leaned on his hand while sitting in the windowsill. Night had since fallen and through the illusion, there were a couple stars glittering through the sky.

When was the last time that there was silence in the Akatsuki base?

Half….maybe more than a half a year ago. The artist smiled as he pulled out some old clay in the bag he had left behind. Only he stopped when he noticed the dried blood on his hands and ignoring it later when he began to mold the haphazard object into a beautiful piece of work.

There would be no more bangs of a hot metal pot and a girl moaning in frustration. There would be no occasional screams of fright from intruders. There would be no more soft murmured songs from his swallows flute.

Just then, Deidara stopped all motion and his eyes grew wide. He appeared to stare beyond the clay, something that was very uncommon to the blond. Looking toward the door, the man's mouth parted slightly.

The flute.

The flute was still in the Akatsuki base.

Placing the clay neatly in his bag once again, Deidara got off the windowsill and strode toward the door. Taking a cautious glance both ways on the porch, Deidara snuck outside his room, which had been tediously chosen due to Eos's death. Taking off his shoes, he placed them inside the room and quietly stepped down the porch, being wary of the corners and the sounds around him. His old room wasn't necessarily that far away, just around the corner in fact. But with the leader keeping a good eye on him, it was wise to approach carefully.

Making it to the room, he stopped and waited then proceeded to open the door. Bit by bit, Deidara peered into the room and abruptly stopped when he saw the flute placed neatly on top of the folded bed.

The moment felt odd, almost as if he'd be hearing Eos again, yelling at him for entering 'her' room. Glancing in all directions, the man stepped into the room and quickly grabbed the flute. Again, it felt strange seeing a fragment of someone's life and it felt even odder when he knew that someone had left it behind.

"You know you're not supposed to be in here, Deidara-senpai."

Deidara paused as his eye slowly glanced behind him, "are you going to be a 'good boy' and tell leader, un?"

Tobi stood in the doorway and let his face fall, "No, after all, I kind of miss Eos-kun just like you. Just to think that yesterday you two . . ."

Deidara laughed then, "it's only in that fleeting moment of true splendor when art is achieved, un. Last night must've been that fleeting moment."

There was a heavy silence that filled the room then, the same kind of silence that follows after a battle or the same when the Akatsuki base is empty. It was silent until the masked man began to walk toward Deidara. Taking immediately action, Deidara turned halfway to meet him but was suddenly taken aback.

Holding out a stack of papers, Tobi's voice softened, "I thought that I should keep these for you." The blond's hand reached for the papers and slightly tugged on them, "they were Eos's."

Deidara's amber eyes glanced up at Tobi then back to the papers in his hand. Sure enough, there were dates and words written all over them…

He grinned, it was her diary…

* * *

"Body 83761. Is this the one you were speaking of, ma'am." Said the man dressed in a white coat, his eyes narrowing at the one before him.

"Yes, she was considered a missing nin. I need to take her back to my country." Said a woman in a black coat.

"I'm sorry, I'll need to know your name for records. Of who took the body, ma'am."

The girl sneered, "Then write this down. My name is Kuchi, Nami."

* * *

"_Dear diary,_

_I'm afraid to tell you the truth, I don't want Deidara to tell me to leave…"_

Sitting down in the middle of his room, the blond shook his head as he laughed at the memory. He had just gotten back from the mission, though a little torn to see Eos in utter distress, he was still happy to see her. The idea that he could pick on her again, to act all high and mighty and her ability to withstand it, it was that sort of thing that always made Deidara enjoy her presence.

"_Eos, I would love to have you stay… un."_

Picking up the pieces of paper, he sorted through until the last day… This morning, she had written something and something painful hit him. An invisible kunai that kept on stabbing him again and again, then with a small breath, he read her last words - the words that will forever be left in his mind.

"_Dear diary,_

_Sadly enough, I know now that I love him. I know that I want to be with him even if all hell breaks lose. He swore he'd protect me and I believe his words, Deidara would never let those words roll off his tongue easily. However, I'm also worried about Nami. I know she coming for me, diary, I know she's going to have it her way and I just hope that Deidara will be there to protect me. Well, that's all I have to say . . . Thank you for listening."_

The paper slowly floated to the ground, all movement stopped as Deidara realized then how much of an impact Eos had dealt on him. True, he knew he was feeling sad for losing her, that she would never be around to make comments on the way he acted. He felt lonely, but he never thought he…

That he would…

Miss her?

Deidara's throat once again experimented with sounds as a sincere laugh passed through his lips. He missed her. He truly missed Eos. Falling down onto his hands and knees, he continued to laugh, finding it strangely humoring how Eos had affected him so much.

Opening his once closed eyes, his amber eyes instantly locked onto a single word in her small paragraph. And suddenly, the laughter died.

Nami.

And something familiar in that moment sparked the dying flame. It was same flame that brought true one-dimension art to the power of exploding two-dimension. Where an artist's true piece of artwork – his masterpiece – was finished by the dynamic moment that slipped through one's innocent fingers and falls to earth once more…

In that moment, Deidara swore to kill Nami, his little sister.

* * *

AN: ZOMG! "falls to floor and drools" Man… this chapter was a mind drain… I cried when I wrote it… maybe because of the music I was listening to. I thank all of you who have been reminding me to finish this darn story! And I have the epilogue YET to write. But that will only be a few pages long. Don't worry everyone! There IS a sequel to this story! I'm currently writing on it as I type this. The story will be (laughs) called "Aurora Australis." It will probably be as long as this story but mainly focusing on Deidara. I WILL NOT GIVE UP ON THIS STORY!! TRUST ME!!

To all my reviewers!

I thank you all for making sure I keep up with the story! CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES FOR EVERYONE!!!!

Fanfic by ione


	12. Epilogue

_**Aurora Borealis**_

**_Epilogue_**

* * *

Soft green and blue stripes grace the night sky above a duo of men in Akatsuki coats. One of them lay comfortably down in the grass as the other sat and watched as the unusual colors went by in streams. A gentle breeze picked up every once in a while as the two rested before regrouping with the Akatsuki for one last event. 

"Deidara-senpai?" spoke the man who sat still in the grass, waiting for his senpai to respond. As the one in the grass pulled off his straw hat and waved his hand in response, the other gained enough courage to ask a single question.

He must've been silent for a while when he realized, Deidara had been glaring at him and had said, "What, Tobi, un?"

Tobi sighed, and with as much bravery he could sum up inside himself, he asked a question that held a single word of taboo for Deidara – a word that could possibly shatter him.

"Deidara-senpai, what's the one thing you miss most of Eos?"

Deidara's glare turned quickly into a confused frown, almost appearing as if the word 'Eos' was no longer in his personal dictionary. It had been two years since Eos's death, and all the while, Deidara was forced to stay within the Akatsuki base unless he was needed else where. Staying inside that building could've numbed him down to the point where he became Itachi, or it made him forget about the memories that still lurked in the hallways, kitchen, and the bedroom.

The blond, still appearing like the subject didn't hurt him, sat up and returned his gaze to the aurora.

Yes, Deidara did still remember the girl who had become a woman while she stayed with him. Everyday he thought about her, and there would be times when yes, he thought of the what-ifs. Being stuck in a building where he could still feel her drove him insane. The subject didn't in fact, not faze him, but instead felt like a knife slicing open his chest.

It was Deidara's turn to sigh as he casually scratched the back of his head. In the back of his mind, he could still hear the echoes of a woman's laughter. She was a ghost living within his mind, and forever would she stay in his mind. He had thought about it in the base…

An artist who ignores their true path of art and strays to far will either have something gained. . . or something taken away.

An artistic eye dropped from the sky and watched the dancing grass. Tobi waited patiently for Deidara's answer, and he got an answer that surpassed what he was imagining.

"Her laughter."

_The End._

* * *

AN: Short but sweet, ne? NOW! To work on Aurora Australis! 

Fanfic by ione


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